A Desire For Her
by Prose Vanity
Summary: Rock stars and writers usually get along well, but they weren't a typical case. Not when their first date was made of stolen first-kisses, polka-dotted bra prints, and a walk-out session which led to the craziest love story ever between music and prose.
1. Beginnings

**A Desire for Her  
**_© Winter Moonlight Sonata_

* * *

**P**icture this: two teenagers sitting together at a table for two in a restaurant called _Le Chanceux_. One was a raven-haired, crimson-eyed young man, blessed with unnaturally drop-dead-gorgeous looks at the age of seventeen years old. His eyes were itinerant and were never fixed at just a single point in the luxurious site, looking as if bored with the current proceedings. In front of him, jabbering endlessly and threatening to speak for the rest of infinity, was a beautiful girl, who he stares at frequently in great annoyance (yet somehow, his eyes have a tinge of admiration…it was unusual for someone to talk so much in his opinion). When she catches his eyes, his orbs dart away and look around again, trying to find something or someone worthy of his attention, although finding no one but her.

The other one was a lovely young girl of sixteen years. She had hazel orbs spiked with dark brown and gold, long wavy mocha-chocolate-blond hair that ran down her spine with tiny bangs over her forehead, and beautiful plump lips, tainted a deep red to compliment her snow-white skin. Her eyes were wide and innocent and irritated, feeling frustrated at the fact that the boy in front of her who was supposed to be her date didn't seem to mind much about her efforts to start a civilized conversation.

So now you can imagine two gorgeous high school students of completely different – no, scratch that, opposite is a better word – personalities brought together and seated together at a single table. What comes next? Well that's easy – chaos.

"And then this man comes around and says – are you even listening to me?" She looked vicious, aiming the question at the young man seated before her, glaring daggers. Her mouth was already dry, until she noticed the boy give a silent yawn.

The boy looked slightly taken aback at being addressed this harshly. He lazily replied a short "Maybe" and grunted; apparently this reply wasn't the one the girl was expecting. In fact, it made her more flustered and livid.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning heavily on her chair. "If, indeed, you have been listening to me, then could you perhaps be as kind as to remind me of what I have been talking about for the past fifteen minutes?"

_Let's see you talk, mister._

He rolled his eyes while inwardly appreciating her guts to stand up to him just like that. He was notorious for being cold-blooded and uncaring and was feared by the whole school in general, except for a few chosen friends. No one, and I repeat, NO ONE can talk to him and raise their voice just like that; she was the first. And she was apparently catching his attention with every second.

He indulged himself at the sight of the girl and drowned himself in her beauty. True, he was annoyed for the past half-hour that they have been together, but that doesn't prevent him from admiring the contour of her body, the perfectly-flawless skin, the long, shiny, soft brunette locks, the ample eyes, the full lips, and practically everything about her.

"Too many to mention," he drawled after staring at her for a few seconds, answering her previous question.

He watched her as her cheeks grew redder and redder by the second, prepping himself for a coming explosion which, surprisingly, didn't come. Instead, she took him by surprise by leaning forward over the table, setting their faces merely an inch apart. This sudden lunge gave him an unprecedented _view_ of something that made him smirk greatly.

"You are a cold monster," she began venomously in a low whisper, still in that position and still giving him that unwanted yet well-appreciated view. "You do not know how to appreciate a woman and you are a vile creature who knows practically _nothing_ about manners."

She sat down none too gracefully, slamming her butt on the chair (poor chair for that matter), staring blankly in front of her. "You know, I'm not even hungry anymore," she remarked, looking away, arms crossed. He was still staring at her and her childish attitude, smirking. "Polka dots," he said in an amused whisper. Her head snapped back at him, eyebrows furrowed, evidently shocked and huffing and puffing like a flustered bear. "What did you say?" she blurted out.

"Polka dots..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Polka dots; it's the design of the bra you're wearing tonight, right?"

This time he really hit a nerve. Her eyes widened like saucers, sparkling with anger and her ears steaming in deep frustration a suppressed rage as she looked down at her plunging dress and reality hit her hard. She shifted her gaze from her dress to his face slowly, literally shaking with anger, as she strived to speak. Her voice seemed to have abandoned her.

"Boo," he said, amusement clearly etched in his perfect features.

Her lips parted and as if spoken through a microphone, she spoke – no, screamed – at him with a deadly I-don't-give-a-damn aura; standing up, her five-feet-six-inch frame towering over his seated figure, she drew a long breath and began her speech.

"You bloody pervert! You spoke not even once during the whole forty-five minutes that we've been together and barely listened to a single stinking word as I ranted time away for fifteen damn minutes and then seconds later you smirk at me and taunt me about my BRA? Is that what you've been doing the whole hour? LOOKING at me?"

He considered for a moment. "Yes, and I must say, you look beautiful," he said, grinning from ear to ear. She scoffed. "Wow, very original, Natsume Hyuuga."

"Fine then: you look gorgeously elegant and scrumptiously ravishing. Is that enough?"

She grew even more irate at this short remark and the instinct to kill was definitely taking over her now. "Well let me tell you, Natsume Hyuuga that -"

She was stopped in midsentence. Why, you ask? Well, let's just say it's his hormones and her non-stop babble that made this next scene possible.

Her full, plump lips were pressed tightly against his, and since she had been speaking, her mouth was slightly open, granting him full entry. Her senses caught up with reality and she realized that his tongue was now playing and rolling softly around against hers. She felt her stomach do simultaneous somersaults as her breathing grew heavier by the second. She closed her eyes and felt his long lashes brush lightly against her smooth cheeks as small bursts of air emanated from his nostrils. It would've been perfect until suddenly, her dead brain fired up and she had the sense to pull away from the moment.

He pulled away as well, opening his eyes as if waking from a dream and looked at the beautiful young woman he just kissed, who was currently gawking at him. He couldn't speak and just looked and looked at her.

After five solid minutes of awkward silence and strong staring, she finally took her clutch bag and walked out, blushing deep scarlet.

One small thought penetrated his mind as he watched her saunter away and exit through the double doors.

_Mikan Sakura, you're a different girl…_

Frankly that was where all this chaos and love began—from a desire for her.

* * *

**Six Years Later**

* * *

22-year-old Mikan Sakura was well content with her life, thank you very much. An accomplished writer at nineteen, she vowed to have her first book by the time she turns twenty six. That was her creed. As of the moment, she was typing so fast that her heart was swollen with happiness until a loud voice reached her from downstairs.

"Mikan! Hurry up and get dressed! We'll miss the concert!"

She stopped and banged her forehead lightly to her desk. "_Damn it_, I forgot about that stupid concert!"

She quickly stood up from her swivel chair and tore her eyes from the computer screen, where she was busy typing her first book.

"Mikan!"

_A little too excited, while I'm not even in the slightest interested,_ she thought to herself.

"Coming, Anna! Wait, just for a few minutes, please?"

She hurried towards her closet, picked out a red turtleneck blouse and black skinny denim pants, pulled on a pair of glossy knee-high Prada boots (her pants tucked into them), grabbed a white hoodie and brushed her long, wavy hair, putting a clip to prevent her bangs from falling to her eyes. A final check in the mirror and she was good to go.

"Finally!" said a pink-haired girl exasperatedly, as elephantine steps issued from the stairways. "You look nice," she complimented, looking at Mikan through her sky-blue eyes.

"Thanks, you look nice as well," she remarked at Anna's get-up: white halter, baby pink hoodie vest, black skinny jeans, and gold high heels. "Where's the Beast?"

"She went there already. Of course, you know her. She wouldn't miss her boyfriend's concert for the world."

"Oh, sure," Mikan agreed. "So…let's go?" She said as they stepped out in the cool autumn breeze, a small smile crossing her face. It was the first time she'd ever gone out in quite a while.

Loud roars greeted Mikan and Anna as they entered the vicinity of the concert grounds. "Wow," Mikan said, covering her ears, "these people are raucous, aren't they?"

Anna giggled. "Well of course, Mikan, what else do you expect? It's the concert of the hottest band of the century!"

Mikan just couldn't believe Anna would go ballistic over these boys. "What's the name of the band again?" she asked, practically screaming to make herself loud enough for Anna to hear.

"Huh?" Anna said, looking incredulously at Mikan. "You don't know? Oh, well…why should I be surprised? It's Cire."

"What?"

"Cire. As in Crimson Fire molded into one word!"

_So cliché,_ she thought to herself as she proceeded inside with Anna, silently and inwardly complaining with every breath she breathed and every step she took. In her head a vigorous speech is currently being delivered.

_If I weren't here, then I would've been at home, working to my heart's content! I would've finished proofreading chapter three and would've gone straight to typing in chapter four! Stupid favors. What do they see in these ridiculous concerts anyway? Oh, so let's say the band has a cool name and– I am just assuming, I haven't seen them yet - they have really cute members, I mean, what's all the fuss about? And duh, they're here to _listen _to the music, they pay for the chance to _hear _them perform live, not to scream and go ballistic! Oh, please. People and their crazy antics, really._

It was a long walk, at least four hundred meters from the entrance doors, and the moment they stepped in, guards escorted them towards their seats ("Courtesy of Ruka," said Anna, winking at Mikan). From the first row, Mikan noticed the hundreds and thousand of glares being shot at her. She looked back at them with pity and disgust, frankly grossed out at how crazy these girls are for the band. _Pathetic,_ she thought.

She barely knew where she was being taken, nor did she care. She caught sight of her best friend somewhere in front and was ecstatic. The guards were all around them, protecting them from livid green-eyed fan girls.

She sat down beside Hotaru after giving her a short kiss on the cheek, Anna taking a seat on the left side of Hotaru, who was holding her videocam aloft, ready to capture the boys' concert on tape. Mikan barely even registered the fact that she and Anna were seated at the very front row, mere feet from the stage. Nor did she notice that a million girls around her were green with much envy and red with rage, their deadly instincts taking over their feminine bodies — all because she sat down in the most coveted seat of the century.

It was remarkable how no man — except perhaps for the guards and the band themselves — was around the stadium. Almost all of the audience was women and girls, screaming their arses of before the concert even began. Mikan once again rolled her eyes at this abysmal sight and turned to look at her friends.

Hotaru was busy tinkering with her videocam again, probably figuring out some way to improve the thing so that her very own company can sell a better handy version of it; Anna was too busy being ecstatic and crazy that she had no idea what she was doing (and neither did anyone else); while she, Mikan, was staring off into space, her thoughts careening into the vast ocean of ideas for her fourth chapter.

Finally snapping out of her thoughts, she quickly took out a writing pad and a pencil. Putting pen to paper, she quickly wrote at the top a very neat CHAPTER FOUR: Fortunes and began to scribble the thoughts she had just had. Before she could even go another paragraph further, Hotaru snatched the pen away and Anna grabbed the paper.

"You are here to enjoy my boyfriend's band's concert," said Hotaru sternly, her face stoic as always, keeping a struggling Mikan at bay, careful not to hand over the pen. "You are here to get away from your tedious work; not to work again."

Mikan looked at Hotaru through pleading eyes. "Please, Hotaru, I need that! My deadline is drawing closer! It's in eleven months and I need –"

"Eleven months?" Hotaru said so surprisingly. "_Eleven_ months is too _short_ for you? Mikan, you're nearly killing yourself by working too much; I think your being a workaholic is much influenced by our days at school. Damn. I never should've called you an idiot."

Mikan smiled wearily the turned to Anna for the paper. "Anna-chan, please do hand over the pad. I need it, you do understand, don't you?"

Mikan was saved the effort of trying to snatch it from Anna as the stadium lights began to dim and sounds the sounds of heartbeats played overhead; people began screaming and the crowd was now reciting a single creed: _Cire_.

Mikan didn't care about the band, but she was curious. Curious because she wanted to see for herself the answer to her question: what made all these people go gaga over some sort of twenty-three-year-olds playing some instruments and singing?

The lights were now completely turned off, and the heartbeats were steadily growing louder and louder. The stadium, which held at least a hundred thousand people in it, was strangely silent. Then all of a sudden a gentle voice came speaking from nowhere.

"Before we begin, I would like to say something."

The crowd held its breath; contrary to what they should've been doing by now, which was screaming their arses off, they were stock-still and hushed. Mikan looked around, wondering what was wrong. Hotaru was as a statue as ever, although she saw the anxiety in her best friend's eyes. Anna, like the crowd, was quiet.

"She has been my girlfriend for five years now and has been with me ever since the start of my career—"

A loud gasp was heard from Mikan's left; it was Hotaru, holding her camera at an odd angle, eyes frozen into space. Suddenly, unconsciously, she put a hand to her chest and her eyes began to morph into tiny little dangerous slits. Mikan continued listening to the voice.

"—so now, for our opening song, I dedicate this new song to her. I love you, Hotaru Imai."

To say that Hotaru dropped dead would be an understatement; she was caught between fainting and dying and anger and an instinct to kill. But before she could do anything gruesome, however, the music began to play, and from underneath the stage, five boys came out. Since it was dark, it was hard to tell who was who, but at the merest sight of them, the crowd began to cheer loudly.

The lights suddenly flashed on and the spotlight focused on a single blonde-haired man with tantalizing azure orbs which were boring straight into a much widened amethyst orb. The brunette, however, lost interest and began to slowly jerk out her pen and paper from her two friends' hands while both were too still and absorbed.

**She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing**

Although very uncommon, Hotaru was swearing loudly while smiling ang crying all at the same time. The blue-eyed man still sang with his eyes lost in Hotaru's violet ones.

**She pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion  
she laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter  
Strange as it seems she's the one I'm after**

Taking the lead from the blonde, a raven-haired and crimson-eyed young jumped forward. Mikan, too busy scribbling in her pad paper, didn't notice his sudden appearance.

'**Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help my self  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep coming back for more  
She's just the girl I'm looking for**

Mikan was still hunched over, scribbling away. Hotaru was too flustered to notice and Anna was too engulfed in the _yummy-ness_ of the boys to care about what Mikan was doing; she can handle herself, Anna said.

On stage, however, it was a different story. While busy playing their music, the raven-haired boy swore and since he was closer to Ruka, the blonde heard.

"That can't be her."

"Who?"

Then he suddenly jumps forward to continue singing.

**She can't keep a secret for more than an hour**

"That girl, hunched over beside your fiancée."

"_Soon-to-be_, don't be too excited Natsume."

**She runs on one hundred proof attitude power**

"It's Mikan."

Natsume froze; even Ruka was a little surprised at the brunette's appearance at their concert, although it probably had something to do with her best friend coercing her into coming ang tagging along.

**And the more she ignores me the more I adore her**

"Hey," Ruka said. "You okay_?_"

No reply.

**What can I do, I'd do anything for her**

"Natsume?"

He merely shrugged and sang the chorus.

'**Cause she's bittersweet  
She knocks me off of my feet  
And I can't help my self  
I don't want anyone else  
She's a mystery  
She's too much for me  
But I keep coming back for more  
She's just the girl I'm looking for**

"Natsume? Man, come on, say something…" asked Ruka while Natsume sang the bridge.

**And when she sees it's me  
On her caller ID  
She won't pick up the phone  
She'd rather be alone  
But I can't give up just yet  
Cause every word she's ever said  
Is still ringing in my head  
Still ringing in my head**

Natsume turned to look at his best friend; the crowd and their other band mates were oblivious to this little chat between them. Ruka sang the next two lines with his eyes focused only on Hotaru's watery ones.

**She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing  
Knows just what to say so my whole day is ruined**

This time, Natsume let him sing the final choruses while he went down the stage towards where Hotaru was sitting. Upon passing by our lovely brunette, he caught a whiff of a very familiar perfume…the only perfume stuck to his head ever since a certain encounter with a beautiful young lady from five years ago.

"I didn't want to do this," he began, while the girls were eyeing him, "but I'm supposed to or else Ruka will kill me. So get up out of your stupid chair and come with me onstage. And you can't say no," he said to the amethyst-eyed woman, holding out his hand for Hotaru to take, sneaking glances at the girl beside Hotaru. She looked at his hand for quite a period. Ruka was already singing the second of two final choruses. She took his hand and he led her to the stage, with her whispering venomously in his ear, "If this is a practical joke, Hyuuga, I'll have your head in the morning."

"Oh, I'm scared, Imai. Definitely shaking with fear."

The final words of the song were sung alternately between Ruka and Natsume while Hotaru was beside Ruka onstage. People at the concert began to shut up and look curiously at this strange scene. Some girls gasped out loud when they found out what was about to happen. Mikan was still hunched over, not a care in the world, which was one of her specialties. Her unwavering focus was a rather helpful skill on her part in times like these.

**She's just the girl I'm looking for.  
Just the girl I'm looking for  
I'm looking for  
I'm looking for  
I'm looking for  
Just the girl I'm looking for**

The final riff ended, and then the surprise of Hotaru's life finally came face-to-face with her. Ruka Nogi, in front of one-hundred-fifty-five thousand people, knelt in front of her, a ring in hand.

"Hotaru Imai. Let's see," Natsume said on the microphone, looking amusedly at his best friend and his best friend-in-law (is there even one like that?). "Ruka's blackmailer ever since first grade, his number one enemy, his cat-mouse chase – mind you, Ruka's the mouse and Imai's the cat – " The crowd laughed at this comment as Ruka shot daggers at Natsume and Hotaru actually let slip a tiny smile, "but most of all, Hotaru Imai. Ruka's beloved girlfriend. And what's more…"

Ruka took hold of the microphone. "—My soon-to-be fiancée."

The crowd gasped as mixed reactions filled the air; some were happy, some were mad, some disappointed (and shouting "I should be Ruka's fiancée, not her!" with matching thumps on that person's head), and some were…well, it's safe to say some were murderous. Hotaru was crying. Well, almost. It took a lot to make her cry.

"Hotaru Imai, will you marry me?"

Too bad Mikan was wearing those earmuffs; she couldn't hear a word.

Hotaru put a hand to her mouth, and nodded slowly, a yes. But Ruka wasn't satisfied with a mere nod, so he asked again.

"Hotaru Imai, will you marry me?"

This time, Hotaru answered a definitive "Yes, you bloody idiot, yes!"

Happy ending. For them, at least. But for one particular member of the band, it was something else that was causing a rather violent leap of faith and joy inside him. Natsume kept staring at Mikan during Ruka's proposal. She was still uncaring and still overindulged with her work. His breathing became a little shallower when he saw how beautiful she had become after four years.

She was oblivious, of course, to this attention she had been attracting. Mostly focusing all her attention towards her work, she barely heard a word of what was happening onstage.

Anna, who was more or less a little too overbearing, was shocked with Ruka's proposal and was very happy for Hotaru, but then, after the nostalgic moment, she noticed that certain crimson orbs were trailed on her brunette friend, who, she just noticed, was back to being hunched over, doing her work in the small light the spotlight offered. She looked at Natsume again and, convinced her eyes were not playing tricks on her, nudged Mikan gently on the sides.

Mikan, who was happily scribbling away and hearing nothing that can disturb her, was startled to feel Anna's gentle nudges. She took the earmuffs off and she looked at Anna with inquisitive eyes.

"What now, Anna?" she asked innocently, a little miffed at the interruption.

Anna rolled her eyes. "You just missed your best friend's marriage proposal."

Mikan's eyes widened at the news that Anna had brought her. She was shocked to find out the Hotaru was proposed to without her knowledge (and was sad that she didn't get to witness the magical moment). She clapped a hand to her forehead and scolded herself until Anna had said another thing that practically took the soul out of her.

"Have I told you Natsume Hyuuga is in Cire and he is, at present, staring at you rather severely?"

Truth be told Anna had half a mind saying this to the woman beside her, and the way Mikan had reacted had definitely proved to her that her decision was a big mistake.

She looked up at the stage only to meet flaming crimson orbs. A rainbow of emotions crossed her face, before it settled well on annoyance.

She glared at Anna, who was suddenly growing more and more interested with the nails of her left finger.

She took hold of Anna's wrist. "Why did you _not_ tell me we were going to a concert involving Natsume Hyuuga?" she said angrily, still feeling those eyes. Anna looked wildly at her, her pale eyes reflecting sincere apologies. "You never asked!" she tried to reason out, which was perfectly true; Mikan had never asked about it, and since Anna was too eager to attend the concert, the thought flew completely out of her mind. Okay, fine, maybe she _kind of_ whacked it out of her brain with a broom, just so she'd get to it…

Mikan Sakura just burned with annoyance all throughout the night, exchanging stares (and glares) with the man on top.

* * *

"Congratulations."

"I suppose you'll agree to be the best man?" Ruka asked as they settled down in the dressing room. The concert had finished five minutes ago. Natsume grunted and said, "It's not like I have a choice. Otherwise your monster of a girlfriend would tear me to pieces and your pet bear might just do the same."

Ruka chuckled but suddenly grew oddly still. He turned to look at Natsume and said, "You know, I've been wondering…you haven't answered my question yet, mister. Are you alright? With Mikan, I mean."

Natsume looked taken aback at the sudden question. He scowled at Ruka while drawling, "Why am I not surprised that you remember."

"Natsume, you haven't dated anyone since four years ago," said Ruka. "I could tell you still love her. Even after what happened."

"We would never have broken up. If only _she_ never broke through us and interrupted," said Natsume lazily, looking away from Ruka who was unable to put any decent show of expression to his face.

The memories of them shone brightly through the murky swamps of his memory, and of course he knew it was Mikan. _Of course_. How could he _not_ know?

Natsume knew it was her from the moment she lifted her head up when that pink-haired girl friend of hers talked to her. The same everything; same hazel-olive eyes, same perfect pouty lips, same long brunette hair, and he knew that if he kissed her, she would have the same cherry taste. Doubtless about the bra, though. He knew it was still polka dots.

"Natsume you can't possibly be thinking about winning her back?"

Natsume stood up, feeling ang knowing that they were alone in the dressing room. Koko, Yuu, and Kitsuneme were all outside having fun. He put his hand on the doorknob and opened the door, but not before he answered Ruka's question (which left the latter dumbfounded).

"Maybe."

And with a sudden resurgence the thought of his original desire for the brunette returned to him.

* * *

_Edited.  
~Ash. _


	2. Twelve Hours

_**"It's nice...seeing you again after all this time. I sort of...missed you."  
**_~Hyuuga Natsume to Sakura Mikan

* * *

-۞-

"Mikan!" was Anna's squeal. She walked away furiously, walked out on Anna at eight in the evening with the rain falling down heavily, still disbelieving of the horrible truth that Anna - _her_Anna - had not told her about the fact that she was going out with Kitsuneme, one of Cire's members.

"Mikan, please listen to me!" yelled Anna as she frantically tried to run and catch the brunette. She stuffed her balled fists deeply into the pockets of her trench coat and crossed the street, away from Anna, away from all her irritation and built-up anger, her frustrated breaths coming in tiny wisps of gray smoke, perfectly contrasting with the dark surroundings, her dress slowly being drenched in cold, cold winter rain.

She never really noticed the singularly obvious: Anna had been Kitsy's girlfriend for so long now. She had been on the covers of famous magazines and song books and was even invited to a press conference! But then, of course, how was she supposed to know about it all when she herself was too obsessed about finishing her first novel? When she herself was too immersed in her own little world, cut off from civilization? A world where it was only her and her trusty computer? With this thought she couldn't help but feel guilty for having thrown a tantrum across Anna's way...Anna, who held on to her and her crazy mood swings for so long now.

And Kitsy! Of all people, why did it have to be _Kitsuneme_ who was involved with Natsume Hyuuga and his stupid band? She simply could not believe how long she'd been comatosed (in the metaphorical sense of the word). What more could go unnoticed?

Still the thought persisted.

_Kitsy, _my_ Kitsuneme, involved with Natsume Hyuuga, _my_ personal hell. Oh, God, why do you have to be so harsh to me?_

_Kitsuneme..._was the only thing in her mind, and Anna was only second to him. She could have never even imagined that Kitsuneme — the weird kid from her kindergarten class, the goofy neek (a cross between a nerd and a geek) from first grade, the reject of junior and senior high, the one-time college drop-out, and most of all, her second best friend — is now the legendary bass guitarist of Hyuuga's slave-driven band! Her eyes welled up tears of fury...she never thought her friends could have kept that much secrets from her.

On second thought, however, she was in absolutely no position to be mad at Kitsuneme. She had walked out on him a few years ago, when he...hang on...wait a second_..._she was missing something here_..._

_...when he said he'd gotten a big break...a position in a band...and he had to leave me…_

She grunted, peeved at her own stupidity and closed-mindedness and she just could not believe herself and her not-so-funny shenanigans. She slapped her forehead. _First Kitsy, and now Anna?_

She was more miserable than any day in her entire life and she knew it. If ever she thought of anything else that would prove to be a lot worse than this, she expected it to be Armageddon or the Apocalypse or something like that, because this - in her opinion - is definitely the worst day ever. Or maybe the worst week.

Since the concert two weeks ago, Hyuuga had been bugging her, calling her endlessly, taking out all the mickey in her, driving her up the wall in severe mental distress, a reaction that only the "stupid, ugly, two-faced bastard" (as she liked calling him) could bring out in her. But it was all a moot point; she wouldn't respond anyway.

But she didn't have to wait for the end of the world for her to find out that this wasn't the worst yet. All she had to do was _wait_. And in the meanwhile, she continued on her pointless meandering through the thickets and cobwebs of busy Tokyo.

* * *

The knocks were growing louder and louder. Anna, who was sobbing uncontrollably on Mikan's sofa, cleaned herself up, hitched a pretty smile on her face, and ran to the door to open it, where she was to be greeted by her boyfriend. Her wet pink hair was tied up in a messy bun behind her head and her eyes were still red and puffy from all the crying she did.

"Kitsy!"

The slant-eyed handsome young man gave Anna a soft peck on the lips before settling down and looking around. "So, this is Mikan's place, huh?"

Anna gave a weary nod. Kitsuneme seemed to have noticed the miserable aura around his girlfriend's face. And moreover, he noted the absence of his best friend Mikan, which was, as it always is, weird.

"Where's Mikan?" he asked softly. He turned his head to look at Anna, who didn't respond. He repeated the question.

"Where's Mikan?"

Upon mention of her name, Anna broke down into tears, alarming Kitsuneme and prompting the retelling of their drama story earlier that evening...

"It was early that evening when Mikan came home from the grocery store, her first trip in months," said Anna as she lay in Kitsy's lap, sobbing and recounting the details of her spat with Mikan. "I was cooking ratatouille for her and I wanted to surprise her with you. She kept ranting about Hyuuga and calling him a 'perverted idiot' and kept telling bad things about the band...well, I couldn't stand it!" Kitsy chuckled. "I told her about you and then she froze _literally _and then, as if I pressed an 'On' switch button, she immediately went berserk and ran off out to the streets! I know it was wrong, but she had some faults too, right?" she asked defensively.

"Right," said Kitsuneme.

* * *

Loud simultaneous knocks ensued throughout the whole house. She was on the other side of the door, drenched in icy water and assisting herself in all the kerfuffle the weather caused her.

"Anna! I'm really sorry!" she yelled over and over again. She was about to yell for the umpteenth time when she finally heard the light thuds of footsteps against her white carpet; she was standing right outside her own apartment. Anna was inside.

"Mikan!" Anna opened the door and threw her arms around her friend.

"Mikan! Thank goodness, you're back," said a voice from the staircase. Anna closed her eyes fearfully and said "I told you to stay in the room!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it!" the man said instinctively. He went down the stairs and just stared at the brunette ahead of him.

Mikan was standing stock-still beside the front door.

"Ki—Kitsy?" she asked slowly, silently. Her eyes welled up with tears and she forgot for a moment about the fact that Nonoko was severely injured; all she saw in that room was Kitsuneme.

Kitsuneme lifted his head at hearing Mikan's pained whisper. He smiled gently and for the first time in two years, opened his eyes to its full extent.

"Mikan..."

Mikan found herself falling into the abyss of memories_..._from the time she first met Kitsy, to the moment of departure. She was lost in his green eyes, eyes she had not seen for two years.

As if lost in the moment, Mikan neared Kitsuneme and gave him a tight hug, a hug that filled one of the holes inside her. Finally, she was reconciled with her second best friend...finally.

The moment would have been perfect, until —

"_Ehem. _Excuse me."

They broke the hug and looked at a very stern Anna. "Look, I know you guys haven't seen each other for so long, but first of all, Mikan, he's MY boyfriend, and second, if you hadn't noticed, it's freezing cold outside. You need to warm up. There's time to catch up later."

Mikan gave a soft smile and hugged Anna, rendering the latter speechless.

* * *

She also found out that Nonoko, Anna's twin sister, was also in the house. She had just hit her head and had to be treated at a local hospital and decided to drop by. Nonoko's bandaged head was lying comfortably in Mikan's lap, who was already changed into pink pajamas and whose hair was let down, while Anna and Kitsy filled her up with what's been going on for the past few months that she's been acting like a cave woman. The sounds of laughter and snorting and incessant teasing filled the house; it seemed for a moment as though nothing could get in the way of their happiness, until Kitsy had to — and I mean he just _had to_ — break the news.

"I invited Natsume over."

Mikan, who was currently in the middle of creating a new nickname for Kitsuneme ("Grandpa," because he forgot his luggage when they had to do a gig in America and he had to come back for it alone a day before the performance. And when he was back to America, he forgot his luggage in the airport. When he went to get back his luggage, he ate dinner, completely forgetting about the fact that they were going to have a concert in ten minutes' time), froze at the mention of Natsume's name, and like a stereo turned off, the whole house was silent as a mouse.

Anna and Mikan were frozen of shock; Kitsy was frozen of curiosity.

Mikan snapped out of it first.

"Please tell me you're not referring to Hyuuga Natsume," she said in a hushed tone, eyes wide and fearful.

Before Kitsuneme could answer, however, a knock on the door was heard. Mikan's head reached boiling point, Anna reached for the nearest pillow and slammed it over her ears and did the same for the sleeping Nonoko, and Kitsuneme closed his eyes, preparing himself for the explosion to come.

The moment Mikan's mouth open by a fraction of an inch, the two people in the room already knew what was coming.

"**_KITSUNEME_**!"

* * *

"What are you doing here?" growled Mikan through closed eyes as she opened the door (painfully, may I add). Her pink pajamas interested Natsume; he smirked at her get up and merely answered her question. Nonoko, who was fast asleep on the couch, awoke with a jerk at the sound of Mikan scream and was now looking at the two bickering people by the doorway with interest.

"Well, obviously, Miss Genius, I am here because Kitsuneme invited me over. Got a problem with that?" drawled Natsume lazily, walking past Mikan. He suddenly eyed the back of her figure and his simper grew even wider. "And you know what, polka? I know that you like polka dots for brassiere prints, but seriously, _strawberries _for panties? God, are you sure you're nineteen years old?"

Her eyes flew wide open at his statement and she was about to give him a downright good slap in the face when a painful memory from somewhere in their past hit her right smack in the face...

"_Natsume, wait up!" called the young brunette. It was a snowy day on the first of January, and they were running down the path of frozen — yet living — Sakura petals. The brunette was running to catch up with the black-haired young boy who was ahead of her and who was lolling his tongue at her._

"_You really are a slowpoke, aren't you?" yelled the boy called Natsume. "Mikan, are you sure you're fifteen years old?"_

_She finally caught up with him and hit him in the head. He looked at her through slit-like eyes and went away._

* * *

Ever since Natsume's arrival, she spent the entire evening in a huffy silence, occasionally throwing Kitsy her infamous — and very seldom — death glare. Her head was turned away and was facing the other direction, opposite Natsume, who was just looking at her amusedly. Nonoko was joining in the story-telling with ease, but her head would still throb.

At half-past ten, however, Mikan was already falling prey to sleep. The steady lull of conversation sounded like a lullaby to her. Barely aware of her surroundings, she laid her head against the arm of the sofa, watching the other four chatting. Anna and Kitsy were talking animatedly when suddenly, Nonoko collapsed, so they had to rush her to the nearest hospital, borrowing Natsume's 2009 Limited Edition Black Ferrari.

Mikan barely heard a word they said when they told her they'd be leaving for the hospital. Her eyes were beginning to droop and her head felt like it was being cut in half. She sensed herself hovering between staying awake and falling asleep, and the latter won. Assuming Natsume came with Anna and Kitsy and Nonoko, she allowed herself to snooze in the living room sofa.

In truth, Natsume did not come with the threesome, so now he was left alone with Mikan, who was lying on the sofa fast asleep. _Great. Just great,_ he thought, rolling his eyes at his misfortune. He couldn't leave yet because his home was forty minutes away by car and unfortunately for him, his car was taken by Kitsuneme. Besides, if he even _thought_ of leaving Mikan here alone, he'd be dead meat, courtesy of Ruka, Hotaru, Kitsy, and Anna and Nonoko. Oh, joy. But then again, he considered the fact that he was finally alone with her; he'd been wanting that ever since the fateful day four years ago, when he made a mistake he could never forgive his own self for.

He walked over to her and watched her sleeping like an angel. _Angel, yeah right,_ he thought to himself. _She's practically a devil inside._

He watched her eyelids quiver a bit, and saw the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her face looked serene and calm, quite contrary to what she was a while ago. He smiled — which was a first — at her gentle appearance, and inwardly appreciated how she could manage to look so kind and sweet when in fact she's so terribly maddening.

She moaned and gave a light shiver. He took off his leather jacket and put it over her, and with a glance at the fireplace, he lit a roaring flame to keep the place warm and snuggly. Mikan smiled a bit and tightly wound the jacket around her small frame.

He watched her through sad eyes and wondered why he ever did things in his life that he knew was wrong. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her pale, flawless face and felt the same old magical feeling when the touched her cheeks ten years ago at a restaurant, where he was sure both he and she got their first kiss.

Just as he was about to withdraw his hands, she took them with her own and pressed them softly to her cheeks. She wasn't aware of this; in fact her eyes were tightly closed. This sudden action took him by surprise, and for a moment he was rendered speechless. Not that he needed a word at all; he wasn't really much of a talker. It took him at least two minutes before he finally got out of his trance and he finally registered an odd fact: she was suffering from an extremely high fever.

Alarmed at her condition and all alone with no means of transportation in the dead of the night, he had no choice but to keep her temperature at bay until the morning. From the kitchen, he pulled out a dusty basin and scrunched up his face at the sudden slaughter of dust mites, and then snatched a face towel from the cupboard. He wiped her face, arms, legs, and neck with cold water and he heard her whimper from the sudden coldness of the towel. He shushed her and after having swabbed her limbs and face, he carried her to her bedroom and kept by her side the entire night until the morning.

She awoke with a start and felt her head considerably lighter than the night before. She noticed the sun was already out. "It's already morning," she said weakly, closing her eyes again, wondering what had happened to her that night. Then, with a pang, she remembered. _I was sick. I was so cold, and then it became warm again, and then..._quite suddenly though, she was pulled out of her trance as she felt something stir beside her. Her hazel pools landed on a weary Natsume sitting beside her, fast asleep and holding a wet face towel. There were dark circles in his eyes, and judging by his deep sleep and heavy breathing, he'd been up all night. A small smile graced her face as she slowly got out of bed and put the blanket over his tired body and went down.

"A breakfast wouldn't hurt," she said happily, skipping down the stairs towards the kitchen.

* * *

His eyes opened as the smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air. He was still tired from having stayed up so late that he could barely raise his head an inch, but thought better of it; more to the point, he was hungry and needed some feeding.

He entered the kitchen and saw Mikan's smiling face in an instant. She was setting down the plate of newly cooked bacon, and was straightening up the plates when she saw him.

"Oh! Hello Natsume. Good morning," she said, perfectly cheerful, evidently having forgotten the little "strawberry spat" from last night. He smiled and took a seat, taking in the wonderful smell of the bacon and eggs and hotdogs and garlic rice while praying that his rumbling stomach wouldn't be heard by the brunette who plopped down her seat as well. She bowed her head in a quick prayer and began to eat while talking non stop.

He was unconsciously staring at her while she blabbed away; she hadn't changed a bit. She was still the great eater, the big talker, and she definitely still has a quick metabolism to stay so thin despite her scavenger-like appetite. His eyes were roaming around her small frame, and he didn't notice she stopped eating. He only noticed this when he found the place quiet.

"Why are you staring at me?" she asked, her head tilted a little to the side, her wide brown eyes inquisitive.

He looked away and thought of a good excuse. Looking at her again, he noticed she was wearing polka dots again. He smiled amusedly and said in a quiet whisper, "Polka dots."

Unfortunately, nothing is soft enough for Sakura Mikan. Her ears could practically hear anything, and his latest comment did not escape her auditory canals.

"What did you say?" she said through slanted eyes, scrutinizing the boy in front of her with hawk-like hazel orbs. She watched him smile, he watched her scowl.

_Well this scene's familiar_, he thought, still watching her huff and puff like a bear.

"I said 'polka dots'," he lazily replied, still mesmerized at the unprecedented déjà vu. "That's the bra you're wearing this morning."

She let loose a loud "Oh!" and put her hands on her hips, quite like a mother scolding her son. He still wanted to laugh at the familiarity of it all.

"Ten minutes, Hyuuga! I've been babbling here for TEN freakin' minutes! And all you did was to stare at me? And check out my _bra_? Ugh, you're pathetic," she said, falling to her seat. She looked spitefully at her unfinished breakfast and pushed it away. "I'm not even hungry anymore. And I actually thought for once we could be in peace." And she began walking towards the sink to wash her dishes.

He felt a pang of guilt with these words; the painful memories were let loose again, and the old cold and curdling pain he used to feel back then were awakened. Her words had a double meaning in it, acting as a double-edged sword...and he just couldn't handle it, perhaps.

The spur-of-the-moment reaction suddenly took over him again, and he found himself saying words he so desperately wanted to tell her for so long.

"It's nice...seeing you again after all this time. I sort of...missed you."

She froze, her hands on the sponge, and bowed her head. He walked away from her and was planning to walk all of the forty miles back to his house when unmistakably, she whispered back.

"I still haven't forgiven you."

He sighed. "I know."

She wiped a fallen tear and put on a cheery smile again and turned around to face the leaving Natsume.

"Thanks again for taking care of me last night!" she said. He looked back and smiled at her; a smile he was rarely seen with. He went back to her and stood right in front of her. He extended an arm and brushed soap suds away from her face. He neared her and closed his eyes, she doing the same, their lips barely an inch apart and they were nearly there when...

"Guys, we're here!" came Kitsy's loud yell. They broke away and he spun around, whispered a small "You're welcome" and walked away. Halfway, though, he said another his last few words.

"Oh, and Polka, just so you know - I'm still after you."

She checked the clock. It was eight in the morning, twelve hours after she walked away.

How coincidental.

It was exactly as it was back then...

* * *

_Edited.  
~Ash. _


	3. Disclosure

**DISCLAIMER. **_Blah, blah, blah._

* * *

"**TWELVE HOURS!"** came the frantic yell of the panicking brunette after glancing at the wall clock. She began to run towards and up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. "I wasted _twelve hours of working time_!"

Anna just shook her head and rolled her eyes exasperatedly. She sighed, catching Kitsy's attention.

"What was that all about?" the young man asked, while Anna attended to a bewildered Nonoko (whose mouth was open). Anna just shrugged, closed Nonoko's mouth, and dismissed the matter. "Kitsy, eat your breakfast."

Kitsy was still gaping at the staircases. "Anna, dear, what just happened?"

Anna gave another annoyed sigh and pulled Kitsy away from the doorway of the kitchen. "Don't be too surprised; that's typical Sakura Mikan drama. It's nothing new." _That brunette really needs to sort out her priorities._

If ever possible, this answer just left an already-dazed Kitsy even more confused.

* * *

"Mikan! We'll be going out to the grocery store!"

She was focusing on her computer screen, and yelled "Okay!" without really paying much attention to what she was agreeing to. She just looked at her achievement. Two chapters in forty minutes, each chapter with fifteen thousand words each. She was happy, oh yes, very happy. And nothing — absolutely NOTHING — can get in the way of her joy.

Well, at least she thought so.

Well, after having typed thirty thousand words in forty-five minutes, the brunette thought she could push herself a bit more and resumed to typing happily away at the inhumane speed of 300 wpm.

Well, that was what she is. _Inhumane._

Suddenly she dozed off...

_They were standing on the edge of a cliff, him and her, hand in hand. They were staring out onto the horizon, wondering about what the future holds for them, whether it be good or bad._

"_Ne, I don't wanna call you baby, but I guess I have no choice, right? Baby —bleah, this is disgusting— um..." said the girl, "do you know what lay ahead of us?"_

_The boy just smirked at the girl and looked back to the setting sun. "No. And nobody ever will."_

_The girl pouted and the boy chuckled lightly at the sight of the girl acting so childish. "Why? I want to know. Even Serina can't tell me what's to happen."_

"_Baka. It's because things change. You can't expect everything to go as planned. Inevitably, they'll wander away from what was written, thus, not making the future certain."_

"_Stop pouting; you look like thick-lipped dog."_

_She smacked him in the arm lightly, smiling._

And then the dream changed.

_She was running through a thick black forest, through a veil of heavy rain. She heard a voice calling her name but she didn't listen. She felt so agonized, so alone, so...rejected. She wanted to go away because staying there was hurting her like a dagger. She just needed to get away._

"_Mikan! Let me explain! It wasn't my choice!"_

_"You have _every_ choice!" she dreamt herself scream back at her pursuer._

_"Just...stop running away! Listen to me, please!"_

_No, she said to herself. I'm tired of listening! I've heard enough already!_

_And a firm hand grasped her arm, making her face whoever her captor was. She turned around with her eyes closed, begging them not to open, not to look the person in the eyes, but her heart failed her. Slowly her eyes opened, tears began spraying down her reddish cheeks. She faced the person, and she could barely breathe when she glanced upon the drenched shirt, and her eyes began travelling up to look at the person's face, but..._

"Mikan! Mikan, are you alright?"

Someone was shaking her vigorously, jerking her awake. She raised her head and noticed that her heart was pounding and her breathing was heavy and labored. She brushed her cheeks and noticed that she had been crying all throughout the dream. She closed her eyes and cried, this time consciously.

"Anna! Mikan! She's not alright, I think she needs you!"

She heard the footsteps going up the stairs but kept her head down. She was still shocked, still rendered speechless by the dream. _Why?_ she asked to herself. _Why did you have to come back? Now you're bothering me again..._

Suddenly, large, firm hands took hold of her. She smelled the perfume and held on to the person's shirt and cried herself out. She felt another pair of softer and smaller hands slither around her slender waist and the light hushing of another person. She was desperate...she wanted to be numb to this kind of pain.

"Mikan, it's alright. It's just a dream," said Kitsy's voice.

"Mikan, it's okay. We're here, Mikan."

She nodded but kept her head buried in Kitsy's shoulders with Anna brushing her hair lightly. Nonoko ran out to get her a glass of water while Kitsy kept throwing Anna anxious and questioning glances.

"What's happening?" asked Kitsy when Anna had Mikan settled down. Anna shook her head vigorously and threw Kitsy a sharp glare.

"Oops," said the blonde, and he kept quiet until she had calmed down.

When Mikan was already settled upstairs, he approached Anna who was in the kitchen preparing what seemed like a Royal meal.

"Now?" he asked.

Anna rolled her eyes and sighed. "She never changed, you know. She's still hurt about the thing with him. You should know, you've been with Natsume ever since. She still can't get over what happened. She was unmanageable for the first three years after You-Know-What, but it's been calmer for the past two years, but since her meeting with him again, it's becoming more frequent."

Kitsy grew confused. He looked at Anna inquiringly, but she merely shook her head and said, "No. It's too complicated."

"Oh, well," he said, leaving out a long sigh. In an attempt to lighten up the dark mood thrown like a veil over the house, he smiled and spoke. "What's for lunch?" asked Kitsy sweetly, slowly snaking his way around Anna slender waist. Anna smiled but pulled away from the hug.

"Let's see," she said, looking at the grocery bags they had bought. "Chicken with mushroom in white sauce, Shrimp Ravioli, Swiss steak, baked pork chops, _Lengua_, Tossed Chicken Caesar's salad with ranch dressing, and...strawberry parfait."

Kitsy feigned a disappointed look and pouted at Anna.

"What?" Anna asked, giggling slightly at Kitsy's silly expression. "You look like a bulldog trying to be cute."

"No cookies?" whined Kitsy, still pouting like an oversized mutt. Anna just laughed at him and turned her back, reaching for the storage cupboard overhead.

"Hey! Woman, don't turn your back on me!" yelled Kitsy. "Where are my cookies?"

Anna turned around, holding a large jar of blue cookies.

"Of course there are cookies," she said in a tone of poisoned-honey. Kitsy became wary; she only used that tone when she had something cooking up in her mind. "How could I forget about Kitsy-baby's blueberry cookies?"

Kitsuneme backed off. "Alright, what's the catch?"

Anna smiled evilly and swiped the top of the refrigerator with her index finger. She showed Kitsy the finger and it was thick with dust. Anna smiled again and looked at the bewildered face of Kitsuneme.

Kitsy could have fainted. "I knew it," he said. Anna couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

Mikan's nose picked up the smell of her favorite Umenomiya dish: Lengua. Immediately, she left her desk and went down the stairs into the kitchen, only to find the entire table laden with foods of all sorts.

"Anna?" she asked, approaching the busy pink-haired girl, "why so many food?"

"Oh, Mikan," she said, wiping her hands on a cloth. "Well, you have guests this afternoon."

"Guests?" she asked back, "who? I don't recall inviting anyone over..."

"Hmm, let's see," said Nonoko's voice. She entered the room holding a bunch of dusty but ornate plates, placing them on the table. "We have...Imai Hotaru, Nogi Ruka, Yome Kokoro, and Tobita Yuu."

Nonoko looked like she missed someone; she pulled a face like that of someone who was trying to remember something. "Oh! I nearly forgot! There's also Hyuuga Natsume."

Mikan gasped and looked pleadingly at Anna. "No! Anna! Please don't —"

Anna simply couldn't answer. She just watched Mikan walk over to the table, in front of the Lengua and taking in its scent.

She just sulked on the table. She can't believe he was going here again! Oh how she wished her life was as sparkling as the refrigerator top...

Wait...refrigerator top? _Sparkling?_ Now that she thought about it, everything was insanely clean. The whole place was unnaturally tidy. The refrigerator was gleaming, the smell of damp dust was gone, and the floor was white as snow again. And moreover, Kitsy was missing.

"Ne, Anna-chan," she began while looking around for Kitsy or even a trace of him. "Where's Kitsy? And what happened to the house? Everything's so...shiny."

"I don't know," said Anna, chuckling lightly while cutting the potatoes into julienne slices.

As if one cue, Kitsy entered the room looking severely exhausted, making Mikan jump in surprise. She turned to look at him and was trying to contain her laughter. Anna also looked behind her and turned around again, shoulders shaking with suppressed giggles. Mikan roved her eyes around Kitsy's body, stuffing her knuckles into her mouth to stop herself from laughing; he was wearing a black skirt and a cleaner's bonnet, holding a duster and a dust pan, with smudges of dirt all across his face.

"Where are my cookies?" he said, slurring and looking at them through crossed eyes. Just as Anna was about to hand over the jar, he fainted.

* * *

The knocks were loud and incessant.

"I'm coming!" she yelled, running down the stairs towards the front door. She fixed herself and prepared for the usual Hyuuga-Sakura spat and put on a big smile on her face.

"Hello!" she said cheerfully. On the other side of the door were a violet-haired girl with amethyst orbs holding hands with a familiar blonde boy with blue eyes (who was holding a rabbit in his other arm), along with a young man who looked remarkably like Kitsy, only with open hazel eyes, and another one with butterscotch eyes behind a frame of round glasses with messy dirty-blonde tresses.

Mikan had to look around again before noticing that another raven-head was missing.

"Where's Natsume?" she asked of the blonde boy.

"He didn't come. He was still writing a new song when we left. He said he'd catch up later."

"Why?" asked Hotaru suspiciously, scrutinizing Mikan. "You should be glad."

"Well, yes, I am," said Mikan. _Somehow, I feel like I'm convincing myself that I'm glad..._

"Mikan! Let them in!" yelled Anna from the kitchen.

"Oh," she said. "Well then, come in you guys!"

They entered the kitchen only to be welcomed by the scrumptious smell of the French toasts that Anna had toasting. On the enormous dining table were meals of all sorts; Mikan was drooling, her stomach rumbling loudly, and Koko gave her a raised eyebrow and a curious look.

They sat around the rectangular table; Anna and Mikan at both ends, while gathered around them were Koko, Hotaru, Ruka, Kitsuneme, Yuu, and Nonoko. Beside Koko, however, was an empty seat.

"Okay, so let's get on with the introductions, shall we?" said Anna. "Koko, you go first."

"Well, let's see, I'm Koko, I love food!" he said, a goofy smile all across his face. Mikan chuckled and said "Koko-kun!"

"Oh, crap," said Hotaru suddenly. "What's with all this meet-and-greet-and-introduce nonsense? This is Yuu, Koko, and Ruka. Now can we eat? I want crab brains and crab roe. Got any, Anna?"

* * *

Anna's cooking was a feast. The taste buds in Mikan's tongue were ecstatic and were begging for more for more food. She was eating at an alarming speed, and would never have stopped, until she finally choked on a piece of meat from the Lengua.

"That's what you get when you eat too much, baka," said Hotaru, patting her back none-too-gently while handing her a glass of water.

"Sorry," the brunette said, "good thing Natsume wasn't around; he would've taken the mickey out of me if he were here."

"True," said Hotaru, nodding slightly.

The rest of the meal was spent in silence, occasionally punctured by some light conversation topic. After the happy lunch they had (which was, in Mikan's opinion, because of Natsume's absence), they moved out the dining to room to the living room.

"So," said Hotaru in her cold voice. "We'll wait here. Go dress up, you four. And be quick."

Mikan looked at her. "Dress up? Why? Where are we going?"

"To the mall," she replied nonchalantly.

"Mall?" Mikan said with her eyes growing wide. "What are we going to do there?"

"To shop, obviously, baka," said Hotaru, her eyes flashing dangerously. "And if you're not coming, then you'll be in for a spank from me. And it'll hurt, I tell you."

So basically a statement like that means you have no choice.

* * *

Mikan quickly threw on a yellow hoodie over a white tank top, a mid-thigh brown plaid mini-skirt, and knee-high boots. A final look in her ancient mirror and she was good to go.

The trip was a little less than fifteen minutes and she felt the not-so-cold winter air hit her face. It felt so good to be out, but she felt a pang of guilt when she would remember what she would have been doing: typing chapter ten.

She felt the burst of cold, scented mall air when they went through the door. Suddenly, from behind her, she felt warm spurts of breath. She froze.

"I suppose you're glad I wasn't able to make it to the lunch," said a husky masculine voice. She closed her eyes and opened them slowly. She registered the fact that he was holding her by the waist.

"Yes, but I missed the spat too," she said spitefully. Something that had crossed her mind a few times for the past three days suddenly came to her, and it dawned upon her that now would be the best time to put the plan to action. One hand grasping tightly his other hand, she crooned sweetly.

"But I still haven't forgiven you, so how about a little revenge?"

His eyes widened by a fraction of an inch, wondering what she might be thinking.

Apparently, she was thinking evilly. Holding his hand tightly, she drew a large breath and let out the killer blow.

"Hey! Hey, everyone! It's Natsume! Hyuuga Natsume of Cire!" she yelled throughout the mall. A moment's worth of silence where Natsume swore loudly and Mikan sniggered inwardly, and suddenly, the whole mall was thundering with the footsteps of hundreds of fan girls coming from all directions.

"Natsume!"

"Kyaa! Natsume-kun, marry me!"

He ran to get away, and he shot Mikan a horrid look as he went off at top speed just to save his life.

Mikan and the gang watched him at it for a minute, before Anna nudged Mikan and said "help him, Mikan-chan. I think he really needs it now."

She just shrugged and thought the better of it. But then again, she was a kind person, and so she thought it would be just right to held a man in need, especially one that was being swarmed by vicious fan girls.

* * *

She walked around for a while before spotting the bathrooms, which was currently being over-flooded with people. And most weird of all, they were all girls. She laughed lightly and went through.

She pushed hard against the sea of violent women towards the door of what looked like the men's comfort room. It wasn't easy, either. She was nearly killed by the pressure and her thighs had many scratches now, from the overlong nails of the girls all around them.

She finally made it to the first line, and she saw the men's comfort room. She walked past the other girls, earning hundreds of glares for which she cared nothing about, and confidently strode into the room.

Yes, into the men's room.

"What are you doing here?" he said, glaring at the brunette. She gave a silvery laugh and took his hand. "I'm saving you," she replied.

The moment their palms made contact, a huge voltage of electricity surged into their bodies. She looked at him and said, "Let's go" with a faint blush on her cheeks.

They exited the bathroom, but before the girls could jump all over Natsume again, Mikan spoke in a loud voice.

"Listen, all of you," she said, making the girls shush. "Do not bother him, if you do not wish to die a painful death. And I assure you, you will if you do."

"And who do you think you are?" yelled one of the girls in front. Her protest led to several other "Yeah!"s and "She's right!"s, and the uproar began again.

Before she could retaliate, however, she felt his arms snake their way around her waist. Her body went rigid and her cheeks began to blush crimson, a feat which he joyfully smirked at.

"Listen, you babbling baboons," he said. The girls immediately fell silent at his words. "I don't want you messing around with me anymore."

"But...b-but...why? Natsume, oh, my Natsume," said one of the girls who was now on the verge of tears. He could've rolled his eyes and vomited if it hadn't been for his social manners. He merely smiled, squeezed Mikan tightly, and spoke through his deep voice, smugness traceable in every note.

"I'll tell you why," he said. "Because here is my girlfriend, and she's doesn't like it when she's jealous."

And to erase all doubt from the rabid girls' minds, he kissed her.

Again.

* * *

_Edited.  
~Ash. _


	4. One Year

**DISCLAIMER: **_Yeah, yeah. Whatever._

* * *

"What the hell?" she yelled, slamming the door closed with force enough to make it rattle in its hinges. She was livid, of course; she dropped her innocent bag rather harshly on the unsuspecting couch and proceeded to the kitchen to get a huge block of chocolate from the cupboard and a pint of ice cream from the refrigerator. She sat down on the poor couch and threw a sharp glare at the boy in front of her. "It isn't supposed to be like this! He was supposed to be ratted off by those stupid fan girls! But _no_! He just _had_ to turn it out on me! The bloody bastard..."

"What?" the boy said defensively, "I only did what I was asked to do, and that's to escort you back home, or else Imai would have killed me!"

She snorted and took a big bite from the chocolate bar, followed by a full spoon's worth of ice cream. She stared viciously at the wide and shining brown eyes and gave another loud grunt. Reality and understanding dawned upon the young man and his eyes sparkled with consciousness.

"Oh! You mean the disclosure?"

There was silence; no reply, unless you count the rolling of the eyes.

"Man, you eat too much."

She stared at him again but quickly went back to her ice cream.

"Hey!" the boy yelled. "Can't you at least _talk_ to me?"

"Just shut up, Koko."

He merely shrugged his shoulders and went on pestering her again.

"Do you like Natsume?" he asked, his eyes trailed on her face. She scowled and put down her ice cream and picked up the chocolate bar on the coffee table.

"I asked you; all you can do is answer it, you know," he teased. She gave out a resigned sigh, closed her eyes, and said, "No."

He laughed. "Oh, really? It's pretty obvious you know, and I'm quite sure he likes you too; I've never seen him give someone so much attention before. Damn, he even wrote a song for you!"

Her wide hazel eyes flew open and all traces of anger had gone from her irises as she sat up. "What did you say? He wrote a _what_ for me?"

Koko slapped a hand over his mouth, and all the while Mikan heard him say muffled _Oh-Crap_s from behind the plastered palm. She groaned miserably. She lied down in the brown sofa, her long chocolate-blonde hair flowing softly on her face. Koko eyed her meticulously, and she can't help but see that he was gulping too frequently to be normal.

"Koko?" she asked, still lying down, "what's wrong?"

Koko tugged at the collar of his polo shirt while blushing ripe red. This alarmed her, forcing her to come closer to him. He began hyperventilating as she drew even closer, and he literally shuddered when she touched his forehead.

"Koko, you're not sick," said Mikan. "What's wrong?"

Koko looked at her. "Allergy," he stuttered.

She looked content at this answer and left the topic alone. She went back to the sofa and picked up the abandoned ice cream and chocolate and began indulging in its chocolatey goodness, all the while smiling and closing her eyes.

The boy watched her curiously after the little "allergy" session and smiled at the childishness of it all. "You do know that you and Natsume are both acting like cranky two-year-old kids, right? Mind you, you two are really fit for each other, and you could wage a full-blown World War Three."

Before he knew it, a container full of Double Dutch flavored **Häagen-Dazs®**Ice cream came soaring through the air towards him, followed by a bar of **Nestle® Crunch**.

* * *

A few hours later, Koko had changed into Kitsuneme's clothes and fell asleep on the couch in front of Mikan, who was still livid from his last remark. At two in the afternoon, Koko dozed, his head hanging limply from the arm of the couch; a few minutes later, she fell asleep as well, somewhat deeply.

At five in the afternoon, however, she received a phone call from an unknown number. Flipping her phone open, she answered.

"Hello?" she said with her voice still woozy from being awoken from a deep slumber. She rose from the couch and began brushing her hair with her fingers. Koko stirred but did not wake up and she noted the tiny droplets at the side of his mouth and laughed mildly.

"What are you laughing at, polka?" said the voice from the other line. She froze in her laugh and groaned for the second time that afternoon.

"Why are you groaning? You shouldn't be, judging by the fact that it's you _boyfriend_ who's calling you," he said. She could almost see the smirk on his face. _Damn him_, she thought miserably.

"What do you want?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest while putting the call on loudspeaker. "Make it fast, Hyuuga."

"Well, aren't we a little rough, now," he snidely replied. "So it's _Hyuuga_ now, huh? What's wrong with a little call from your boyfriend?"

She scowled again and she heard him laugh and she rolled her eyes, lolling her tongue out at him (or rather, at the phone).

"Get ready for tonight," he said.

"Why?"

"We're going out."

"We? Who 's the 'we'?"

"Baka, why do you have so many questions?" he said. The irritation was obvious in his tone. "We, as in you and me. We're going out. As in on a _date_."

She snorted. "Yeah, right. The answer is obvious, darling. No."

"You have no choice," said Natsume from the other line. He was evidently smirking; it was observable, judging by his arrogant tone.

"Oh yeah?" she retorted. "And why is that?"

He growled. "Too many questions; you have no choice because tonight you'll be meeting a world-famous editor and book reviewer. Perhaps you know about Kazikawa Shino? He's reviewed _Highlight_ by Tiffany Smayer, _Parry Otter_ by Mayday Croowling, and _Pink Art_ by who-knows-who. So in short terms, you have no choice because I'm doing you a huge favor for that blasted novel of yours."

She sat up stiffly in her seat and asked sternly, "Is this a joke, Hyuuga?"

"Do I _sound_ like I'm joking?" he said, voice cold and clearly annoyed. "Get ready, I'll pick you up at seven. Dinner's at seven thirty."

"Yeah, right," she said. And just when she was about to hang up, he said a few more words.

"And I forgot. Wear the dress from our first date."

She hung up the phone, her ears steaming like a train engine.

* * *

She looked at her gold wristwatch while she sat in front of the television, waiting for the "blasted raven-haired creep" to come knocking at her door. She was already excited, because aside from the fact that she was given the chance to meet a world-renowned editor and book reviewer, she was also anxious to see what Natsume's reaction would be about what she wore, because instead of the red dress he asked of her, she wore an empire-waist gray-black cocktail dress with blue lining, with her hair down and a simple blue sakura pin stuck to her bangs to keep it from falling down and marring her face. She wore minimal makeup and a cherry-flavored lipstick, her favorite even since when she was young. She was sure he'll be livid once he sees she didn't do as she was told, especially as she wore his most hated color. She smiled at the thought.

Koko, who had been at the kitchen "cleaning" the refrigerator, came out laden with "rubbish" (meaning Potato chips, chocolate cookies, mocha cakes, you get the point) and walked right past Mikan before double-taking and ogling at the young lady, dropping his baggage halfway through the process. His jaw dropped and his gaze was fixed at the oblivious brunette.

When Mikan turned around and found Koko looking at her dazedly, she smiled and gave a light laugh, rolling her eyes in the process. She stood up in front of Koko, gave another wide smile, and closed his mouth. Koko snapped out of his trance and blinked once or twice before registering what had just happened.

"Oh, hi Mikan —" he blinked again and Mikan walked away. "Oh, holy crap! I mean, you're...gorgeous."

Mikan laughed. "Thanks for that, Koko-kun. I'm leaving tonight. Please do take care of this apartment while I'm gone, okay?"

Koko just nodded absentmindedly.

* * *

At exactly six forty-seven in the evening, a knock was heard throughout the Sakura Mikan residence.

She stood up from the couch and went to open the door, anticipating the raven hair and cold, dull red eyes. What she didn't expect, though, was for the guy on the other side to ogle at her attire in the exact same way as Koko did, albeit a little less longer.

"Natsume, come in," Mikan said, closing Natsume's mouth as well. She made him sit down on the couch and went to the kitchen to get some drinks.

"Why didn't you wear the red dress?" his cold voice drawled as he shook out of his black jacket. He sat down on the couch and looked to her direction. She shrugged as she brought him a tiny glass of iced tea and answered a short "I didn't want to."

He brushed his lower lip lightly with his thumb and a moments' silence passed, where she was playing with her thumb and he was staring at her with curiosity, eyebrows furrowed. Finally, he spoke.

"How many dresses do you have?"

She looked startled at the sudden question. "Two. Why?"

"Which two? That and the red one?"

"Yes. Why?" she asked, squinting at him suspiciously. He shook his head and said nothing.

And then the silence again.

Although admittedly awkward for a few seconds, she couldn't help but think that this silence was more... accommodating... more comfortable than what she had expected it to be. She would keep sneaking glances at him and notice how good he actually looks, no matter how simple he wears. She also noticed the fact that he had been wearing red accentures to his black suit and felt a pang of guilt for not having followed what he said. It was evident that he did his best efforts, because she herself knew how hard it was to get men's accessories for a black tux, let alone a red one.

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, Natsume accidentally kicked the glass of iced tea towards Mikan's dress, his act followed by a smirk of triumph, which fortunately, Mikan hadn't seen.

"Shit," he said in a great reenactment of surprise, standing up to assist her, "I'm...sorry. I didn't think. I'm—"

The dress was drenched in pineapple juice, and what was worse was that it was all over her dress, not something that can be dried up by a simple hair dryer and covered up with a few sprays of perfume. She looked at him through slanted eyes and stood up to jab a finger into his fierce chest rather hardly, bending her index finger quite more than what it was used to and making her wince with pain, but she kept the pain to herself, nonetheless.

"You did this on purpose, huh? You manipulative freak! You're a stinking cheater!"

He was smiling smugly at her and stood up as well, his six-feet-seven frame towering over her. "Well, tiger," he said, raising an eyebrow at the livid young lady, "go change into a different dress." He motioned his hands into that of someone shooing a cat away.

She stomped her way to the second floor towards her room, and in the process managing to trip over a folded carpet, breaking her blue high heels with so much force, and slipping off the stairs, leaving the laughing raven-haired man behind.

* * *

"You filthy cheat!" she said while walking out her front door. She kept ranting about everything while the handsome man beside her just kept closed ears to the yapping of the armalite-mouthed brunette keeping up at his side.

"—you are very manipulative and you — woah. Woah, woah, woah," she said, stopping in her tracks and looking in front of her. Natsume turned around to look at her and smirked immaculately.

"Can't believe what you're seeing, Youjo?" he asked. She shook her head, meaning "no", and went on to admire the beautiful pearl-white limousine parked neatly in front of her. She ran her fingers through its body and spent a lot of minutes examining her ride and would surely have spent a lot more time had Natsume not taken her by the waist and threw her into the car.

They arrived at a restaurant called _Le Chanceux_, and she couldn't help but think that the restaurant was familiar to her, from somewhere in her past. He was looking at her, wondering what her reaction would be once she remembers about the fateful night that they went here, to this exact restaurant. Knowing her, he knew she was still thinking about how familiar the place looked to her and wouldn't remember it until ten minutes' time. He sneaked another glance at her and saw her eyes widen with realization.

Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One.

"Hold on," she said, looking at him accusingly, "this is...no, it can't be...this is...this is _the place_!"

He simpered and looked at her. "Yeah. So what?"

She looked furious, but thought better of it. Instead, she just crossed her arms and kept a huffy silence between them. Her mind kept wandering towards the place as they entered the mile-long entrance to the elegant restaurant. She herself could not believe it; after five years, she was back here, back to the same place with the same man in the same dress and the same lip gloss. Good thing it wasn't the same bra she was wearing, or else she couldn't endure even a mere five seconds with the man whose memory is as sharp as a dragon tooth.

Halting slowly in front of the restaurant, she was slowly brought to her senses and was surprised when she saw what was waiting outside. Hundreds of cameras, thousands of people, and thousands of guards were all positioned squarely in the restaurant lobby. The reception area alone was huge, and as she could recall, was once said to be as large as a full basketball court. She gulped while inside the car and threw Natsume an anxious gaze. His head was turned towards the people, and when he saw her looking at him with fear in her eyes, he sighed and prepared himself for the roar of the crowd once he stepped out the car.

He opened the door and heaved another sigh. The moment his shoes touched precious ground, the crowd silenced themselves. He came out, walked over to the other side of the limousine, and out came the gorgeous Sakura Mikan. It was hardly enough to say that the people around the hall were astounded by Mikan's appearance; they were downright surprised that she was as beautiful as that, because rumor had it that she had crooked teeth, dry hair, and dull brown eyes. Now they saw that everything was not what it really seemed.

She was dead-on nervous about this endeavor. When she climbed out of the car, she saw all those thousands of faces looking at her with wide round eyes, and suddenly she felt all conscious and looked at herself and her dress. So far, so good, and she really didn't see anything wrong. But she was afraid of all those stares, for never in her life was she observed quite as deeply as this.

She turned to Natsume and asked with a shaking voice, "Do I look alright? I mean, just look at them! Look at how they're looking at me! They — they scare me, Natsume."

He looked at her and grabbed her waist forcefully but gently and calmed her down with his steadfast gaze. With as much sincerity and truthfulness as he could possibly muster, he said three words that made her feel like Jell-O in the face of fire.

"You look beautiful."

And with that statement, they paraded down the long hallway of _Le Chanceux_ with the flashing cameras and the questions dodged easily by Natsume. Mikan was held protectively by him, his arms that were around her waist were firm.

* * *

With the help of a few bodyguards, they arrived safely at the top floor of the three-storey restaurant. The moment they were inside the dining area, the doors were closed and she let out a deep sigh. She brushed her fingers through her hair and wiped a bead of sweat over her forehead. When she was about to go to the comfort room, however, she felt arms around her waist still.

"Uh, Natsume," she began awkwardly, "you can let go now."

He did as he was told and she couldn't help but giggle at the faint colorization of his pale cheeks. Before she could move, however, a singularly curious thought came over her. The doors were closed, meaning the entrance of anybody else was strictly forbidden, the place was huge and packed with people, and in front of her, right now, was an annoyed-looking young lady in a beautiful silver evening gown. She had green waist-long ringlets that cascaded down her beautiful shoulders and had wide emerald eyes that flickered with the flame of obvious infuriation. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest and her feet were tapping impatiently on the red carpeted floor of the restaurant. Her hazel eyes clashed with the green ones and from where she stood, felt the intimidating aura coming out in waves.

"You're Sakura Mikan," the green-haired began.

She swallowed before replying a cordial yes.

"So," she said, circling around Mikan, her eyes scrutinizing her very appearance. It seemed as if a predator was cornering her prey. "You look acceptable."

She breathed a sigh of relief and the green-haired immediately turned her attention towards her face instead.

"Nee-chan! Stop criticizing her!" came a loud, shrill yell from a young girl who looked about twelve years. Mikan's eyes snapped towards her, every bit of gratitude traced in them.

The girl had long black hair and navy-blue eyes and she was wearing an empire-waist floral dress. She had a striking resemblance to Natsume, which Mikan thought impossible, because she never knew Natsume to have relatives in Japan. For all she knew, they were all in America.

"Oh! Hello!" said the girl. "I'm Aoi. Hyuuga Aoi! I was really pleased to see you made it out alive in that ocean of people down there! You look so pretty, you're like a porcelain doll."

Mikan could have sworn she herself was also pleased to have survived that. "Thank you, Aoi," Mikan promptly replied, stooping down to shake Aoi's tiny hands. Her hair fell gracefully to the floor and Aoi's eyes widened at the sight.

"Wow!" said Aoi, "you have pretty hair!"

Mikan smiled gratefully. And then, she felt another pair of tiny hands on her hair, tugging at it lightly and when she turned around, she saw a cute toddler, maybe about four or five years old, with teal blue eyes and spiky grayish-silver hair pressing her locks against his nose and inhaling deeply.

"Onee-chan," was what the young boy said. Although devoid of any emotion, the boy gave her a warm welcoming hug. And although she was quite taken aback, she returned the hug with much warmth and joy. When the young boy turned to face her, he was smiling angelically, contrary to his previous disposition mere minutes ago. She stood up and he grabbed her hand while Aoi took hold of the other, and she was filled with much love that she actually laughed.

Mikan was surprised to have had such level of attention coming from people she barely knew. She was called pretty, doll, and nee-chan by children she felt a strong attachment for; and she had someone to inquire about it. She looked around in search of a familiar face, one with black hair and deep red eyes, and found what she was looking for; indeed, he was there, mere feet away from her with a big smile on his face. Well, not exactly big, but we shall daresay it was the largest smile Hyuuga Natsume ever mustered in his entire life. She smiled back much enthusiastically, until a loud fake cough snapped her out of La-La land. Her head jerked upwards and for the second time that evening, she was met with annoyed green eyes that shook the humanity out of her.

"I see you've met my brother and sister," she said scornfully. After having taken a good look at her, though, and after having considered that she was nice and pretty enough for her taste, stuck out a hand and said through a beautiful yet somehow scary smile, "I'm Hyuuga Sumire. The young boy on your left hand is Youichi. We're Natsume's siblings."

Her brilliant smile faded gradually as the thought sunk into her skull.

"You ..." she stuttered and would have been crushed at the thought, "You're Hyuuga Natsume's siblings?"

Sumire gave a sly smile. "Well, yes. Don't you believe me?"

By the tone of her voice, Mikan deduced that she had nothing more to do other than actually believe her, because her tone of voice seemed to _demand_ that she believe.

"Uh, yeah," said Mikan awkwardly. "I believe you ... it's just that it's somehow difficult for me to perceive that you three — such _sweet_—" she gulped at the thought, as she did not believe one of them (particularly a green-haired one) to be sweet, "— people would be related to that man over there."

Sumire scowled. "Do you doubt my brother's aptitude and attitude? Well, believe me; you still have a lot to learn about him."

Mikan smiled and thought, y_es, I still have a lot to learn._

* * *

"You have ..." she began when she was finally able to rejoin him after detaching herself from Youichi, Aoi, and Sumire, "you have ... interesting siblings."

He smirked at her. "Figured they'd be more like me, huh?"

She was ashamed of his statement yet couldn't find enough strength to deny it or fight for it as well, so instead of fighting a hopeless war, she just contented herself to walking the length of the restaurant's dining room beside him in a comfortable silence.

Natsume glanced at Mikan, who was striding elegantly alongside him and whose head was bowed. He smiled at her and decided to drop the bomb: the other reason why they were here.

"Aside from meeting Shino," he said, vaguely imagining what her face will be once she finds out, "You'll be meeting my parents."

She stopped in her tracks, turned her head robotically towards his direction, slanted her eyes for the nth time that day, and whispered venomously, "You filthy scum! Urgh! Didn't you ever think of saying that maybe a little earlier?"

He grunted and shrugged in reply. She was about to retaliate when suddenly she heard a cool, cheery voice scream from behind her, "Natsume, dear! We're here!"

She froze.

_Hyuuga Natsume, you will be so dead once we get home._

* * *

"Oh! Natsume! So this is her? The girlfriend that people talked about?" the woman said, a sparkle in her eyes. Mikan looked uncomfortable but gave off a shy smile as they eventually neared her.

Natsume took her by the waist, looking at her from the corner of his eyes (her eyes flinched at his sudden action) and said, "Yes, Ma, this is her. Sakura Mikan."

"Oh, and what nice name you have!" said the woman again, looking at Mikan through green pools. She was an immensely beautiful woman for her age, and she definitely did not look like a thirty-seven year old mother of four. She had alluring emerald eyes, much like Sumire's, and long flowing silvery-blonde hair. This alone was enough to enchant Mikan, but add to that, she was smiling a very radiant smile at Mikan, which seemed to have been infectious, as the latter began to smile as well.

"I'm Hyuuga Kairi, Natsume's mother, and this is my husband, Ayura," Mrs. Hyuuga said, motioning towards her right, where her husband stood up, and kissing Mikan's hand, fixed those flamed red eyes that Mikan knew only too much. He had raven hair like Natsume's, but it was tinged with gray. His face had the same pallor and beauty as his four kids, albeit lined with age. Other than that, he seemed to be a pleasurable man in Mikan's opinion.

"Miss Sakura, such a pleasure to finally meet my future daughter-in-law," Mr. Hyuuga said, bowing down. The smile slid off Mikan's face as she turned to look at the now-smirking Natsume. Her eyes were turning as red as the man before her.

"Yes, such a pleasure as well, Sir, Madame," she said, turning back to Natsume's parents with a smile forced only by cordiality.

"Enchanted!" said Kairi, looking fondly at Mikan. "Now, what are we doing, all standing up? Come, let's eat!" she said again, clapping her hands together and beckoning Mikan and Natsume to sit down. "Aoi, Sumire, You-chan, come over now, please. It's time to eat. Youichi, let go of the draping, Karui will not like that! And Aoi, please watch over your brother," she finished exasperatedly. From the corner of her eyes, Mikan could see Sumire's perfect walk (glide, perhaps, would be a more befitting word) and Aoi and Youichi's scamper. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly and when she diverted her gaze to her right, she saw Natsume looking at her as well. She felt her blush and turned away from him to hide her face.

* * *

"Now, tell me more about you, please, dear," Mrs. Hyuuga obliged, after they sat down.

"Well," Mikan answered promptly, "I am twenty-two years of age, and I write. I'm currently in the middle of writing my first novel."

Mrs. Hyuuga's eyes popped. "Oh! You are? Would you mind, my husband and I have a printing press. If you would desire it to, we could publish your work. We have Kazikawa Shino in our family, after all, and he can look over you book and proofread it. He could also review it," said Mrs. Hyuuga.

"You are related to Kazikawa Shino?" Mikan asked halfway through a spoon of food. "I mean, _the_ Kazikawa Shino?"

Sumire gave her a disbelieving stare. "You don't know?" she said. "Shino is our cousin. Mother's maiden name is Kazikawa Kairi." She smiled and resumed to her eating.

"I'm sorry," said Mikan, "but Natsume didn't tell me he was."

"Oh, it's okay, dear," said Mrs. Hyuuga. "Come to think of it, where _is_ Shino?"

Her husband looked at the door of the dining area and said in an amused tone, "Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear."

Mikan smiled and turned to look at the door as well and was admittedly _stunned_ to have seen such glamour and elegance and handsome features all sewn into one person. There he was: Kazikawa Shino. He had luscious brown locks that were all messed up yet in a handsome sort of way, and he had eyes blue and strikingly so. He walked with such strength, but not a tiny hint of pride. His face had the finest features enough to rival that of Natsume's, although Mikan had to admit that Natsume's were more arresting compared to Shino's gentle appearance. He was walking slowly towards them and Mikan couldn't help but stare. But eventually snapping out of her senses, she went back to her ravioli.

"Aunt Kairi, Uncle Ayura, Aoi, Youichi, Sumire, Natsume," said Shino through his deep, soothing voice, nodding his head at every name; Sumire giggled when he said her name. He faced Natsume and held out a hand.

"Shino," said Natsume, standing up to wring his cousin's hand. Natsume sat down and so did Shino (uncomfortably enough, he was sat directly in front of Mikan), but not before he noticed our flustered young Miss Sakura.

Shino flicked his electric blue eyes towards her direction, suddenly lit up with excitement.

"And who — pray tell — is this beautiful young lady sitting in front of me?" he asked. He stood up and walked over to Mikan, who was, by this time, blushing scarlet. He took her hand and kissed it tenderly, and immediately she flushed. Natsume's eyes slanted and his fist balled underneath the table.

"She's Sakura Mikan, Shino," said Natsume through gritted teeth, "_my_ girlfriend."

"Oh," said Shino, letting drop Mikan's hand. She turned away at once and muttered a shy "Pleased to meet you" and immediately went back to her food.

* * *

The evening passed by well enough, except perhaps for the fact that Shino kept looking at her and Natsume kept shooting Shino sharp glares, that Aoi and Youichi were staring at her like some sort of angel in disguise and that Sumire was drooling all over Shino and Natsume. ("Trust us," said Aoi, "Mikan-nee, if we hadn't known better we would've thought Sumire-chan as a fan girl.")

Adding to the din was Mr. and Mrs. Hyuuga's constant hints of Mikan coming to stay in the Hyuuga residence. But since her mind was too full of incomprehensible apprehension towards Natsume's stares and Shino's gaze, she was far too distant.

"Mikan-chan?" said Mrs. Hyuuga, snapping Mikan out of her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

Mikan hitched a smile on her face and said, "Yes, ma'am, I'm quite well."

"Oh, please," said Mrs. Hyuuga, alarming Mikan. "Don't call me 'Ma'am' like I'm old or something. Call me Auntie Kairi. Soon enough you'll call me 'mom', after all."

Mikan nodded shyly, a little taken aback by the 'mom' thing. "What was it you were asking me again, Auntie?"

"Well, dear, I was hoping you would come to stay with us at the Hyuuga Manor."

Mikan couldn't speak. Mrs. Hyuuga was looking hopefully at her, and Aoi and Youichi's pleading looks were enough to convince her, but she refused the proposal.

"Oh, no, Aunt Kairi," Mikan said. "I think I've trespassed quite far enough at a family dinner such as this; I can't push myself to ask for more."

Hyuuga Ayura laughed. "You are such a modest young woman, Miss Sakura. But I won't take no for an answer," said Mr. Hyuuga. "I really would like to get to know you better. It's the first time Natsume's ever brought a woman to our midst, and I tell you, we all thought him gay at first."

"Dad," said Natsume sternly while his family and Mikan laughed.

"I must say, I'm quite glad with who he brought: a modest young girl, decent, charming, and beautiful, of course."

Mikan looked quite shocked and felt heat creeping up her cheeks. Natsume's eyes were telling her to say yes, but she really can't help but refuse. This family has done enough now that they've accepted her. She reckoned it would be too far if she happened to intrude at their home.

"Ne, Mikan-nee," said Youichi in his small voice, his eyes shining with fervor. The effort to speak was obviously paining him. "Come wif us. I want to see you again. I wanna pway wif you. I wike you."

"See, Mikan?" said Mrs. Hyuuga. "Even little You-chan wants you. Please, dear. Just give us the pleasure of having you home, we'd all love to have you over."

She shifted in her seat; her walls finally seem to be giving in. "How long will I stay?" she asked, a little off.

"Oh, maybe just a few months," said Mr. Hyuuga.

"A ...few months?" repeated Mikan blankly. "I — I really appreciate it but —"

"She's coming," said Natsume, cutting Mikan's excuses. Mikan whipped her head at him and opened her mouth to scold him when a barrage of happy words suddenly cut her off completely.

"Oh, finally you agreed," said Sumire, clapping her hands. "You have_got_ to show me your wardrobe; something tells me we have a lot of burning to do, and not to mention a lot of shopping. And I need to borrow that dress, Mikan-chan. Finally, I have a girl of my age with me at home!"

"Yay!" said Aoi, jumping in her seat, "we're having Mikan-nee!"

Even Youichi looked very pleased. He had a tiny smile in his face while picking the cherries from the ice cream in front of him. Mr. Hyuuga was nodding his approval and Mrs. Hyuuga was fussing on her cell phone, making arrangements about the house as soon as possible. Natsume and Shino, however, were looking at her—the former with a smirk, the latter with a smile.

After all the happiness has been done with, Mrs. Hyuuga turned to Mikan, "Dear, the limo's already outside to pick you up. We're giving you an hour and a half to pack up. Natsume'll help you out...now, chop chop!"

Her eyes were bewildered, because a departure that's so _soon_? She was still hung over when Natsume took her hand and led her away from the table and into the elevator. She could barely retain the idea in her mind, and while walking down towards the lobby, she was in deep thought as to whether what happened back there was just a dream.

"You owe me one," she said scathingly to Natsume, who was gloatingly smug. "You owe me my _life_, Hyuuga Natsume."

"And you don't?" Natsume retorted. "If you don't recall, you nearly had me killed this afternoon by setting a trail of murderous fan girls after me."

"That...that was different!"

"No it wasn't. It's quite the same, once you look at it a little more carefully."

And he triumphed over a livid Sakura Mikan all throughout the trip back home.

* * *

Her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered. The caller ID was unknown to her. But a few seconds later, she recognized it to be Mrs. Hyuuga. She happily replied, but suddenly paused and froze, as if a freeze ray hit her squarely in the face. She shut her phone and lowered it slowly, her eyes still wide.

She could just not manage to understand why these things had to happen to her, and she was still shocked from what Mrs. Hyuuga Kairi told her...

"_Mikan-chan, we'd like you to stay for a year instead. I hope that's fine with you, dear! We'll be expecting you at the Hyuuga Manor soon! And Miss Imai is already here with me, she'll be waiting!"_

"But—Aunt Kairi—"

The line went dead.

She groaned. Natsume looked at her curiously. "What did Mother say?"

She glared at him first before answering. "She asked me to stay over for a year."

She _swore_ she saw a look of triumph in his hatefully handsome face.

_Just great_, she thought to herself. The family she can manage. Aoi was alright, and Youichi is definitely cute, but her problem now is: a _year_ with Hyuuga Natsume? How the hell was she supposed to survive that now?

* * *

_Edited. (:  
~Ash. _


	5. Wandering Thoughts

**DISCLAIMER. **_Yadda, yadda._

* * *

The rain pounded incessantly on his windows at as early an hour as five in the morning; tiny and faint rays of yellowish light were beginning to creep up the horizon, trying to break through the thick gray clouds and put up with the darkness futilely and he sat up on his bedroom floor, readjusting his position, as he had been doing for the past three hours that he'd been awake. He was in a deep surmise, thinking hard, wondering; he was fathoming his chances with Sakura Mikan, despite knowing full well that she was expressing signs of partiality towards his cousin, not missing the fact that she showered him with glares and angry replies every time he was at a fifty-meter distance. Also, he became aware of her great progress with everyone socially, mentally, and emotionally (she was hopeless when it came to the physical part). Everybody, that is, except him.

And he wasn't stupid either; he knew.

He knew that Kazikawa Shino was his biggest rival yet, knew that he was also heels-over-head-over-heels over the brunette, and knew that he could win hands down. He knew that the name "Shino-kun" was written neatly across the first page of Sakura Mikan's good books and that his name, Hyuuga Natsume, was scrawled lazily under the heading of "Most Wanted", blacklisted as the **Worst Human Ever**. He also knew that Shino was kinder, more gentle, and more easy-going than he was, and yet he also knew that he himself was much more good-looking, a shade more skillful, and more playful (although of the taunting kind). Moreover, he knew that Mikan was tormenting him — with sharp glares, eerie silences, and witty retorts — solely for that purpose. He also knew that, as modest as he seems to be, Kazikawa Shino was _gloating_ — albeit indirectly — at his first-ever triumph over the cousin who had so unfairly overshadowed him since infancy and perhaps reaching to before that.

Oh, yes...Hyuuga Natsume knew hell a lot of things, and a great number it would be as well...he knew nearly everything, _everything_ —

— Except why, _**why**_, can't he seem to change himself to get on the good side of Sakura Mikan's terrible temper? Why can't he be like _Shino-kun? _(He growled at the thought, disgusted.) Why can't he be cutesy, caring, nice, and the likes? If he really did love her, why wouldn't he change for her? Why does it all feel so bad if he sees Shino being finicky with Mikan but can't bear to do the same?

He groaned wearily and walked over to the other side of his room, taking his guitar from its stand and grabbing a pen and paper from the desk beside it, ready to write a new song. Quite suddenly, as he pondered on the only question he couldn't answer, his alter ego came to his aid and defended him from himself. Through the still-pouring rain, it reasoned out.

'_Maybe you __have__ changed. Maybe these changes were just really too subtle that only _she_ can feel it and see it ... maybe she's also afraid of the change, and that's why she's acting so odd, so awkwardly...'_

He snorted as he continued writing his song. _What if_, he thought again, _well, what if I never really changed? What if I'm _**not**_ changing and that's why she hates me? What if I don't _want _to change?_

'_Well maybe,' _his brain fired back, '_maybe you don't want to change because you really don't want to be loved for someone you're not. Maybe you don't want to change because you don't want her to love you the way your fan girls do, for the wrong reason at the wrong time. And maybe you don't want her to fall in love with the fake Natsume, the one you show on screen. Although, I tell you, there's no big difference, really.'_

_Oh, shut up_, he thought back, closing his eyes.

'_Only kidding,' _he replied. _'I just added that to lighten your mood. And besides, maybe, just maybe, you don't want to change, because you're really just _too _stubborn change at all.'_

He shifted in his position, looking off into the distance. _What if she won't love me for who I am? What if she chooses the "Good" guy?_

'_Well, I don't know about that, whether she'll love you or not. But I'll tell you what: she will if she does and she does if she will.'_

_What's that supposed to mean?_ He argued irritably.

'_Figure it out yourself.'_

He slumped against the side of his bed. His mind was whirring, thinking deep once more about those words. But after a while, he ran out of questions and gave it a rest.

Looking down on the pen and paper, a little startled to find that he'd already written nearly a verse and a half, he arranged himself and went away to continue writing what was sure to be another smash hit, but pausing to think of what he just did.

A second later he felt sickened with himself and laughed sourly at his own stupidity.

_I've been reasoning against my own reasoning._

* * *

At about half-past seven he was summoned by the maid, Kita, for breakfast. He gave a lazy grunt and said he'll just follow after her, and shortly after the maid took off for the dining rooms, he left as well, walking barefooted across the carpeted halls, into the elevators, and into the dining floor. When the elevator door opened, he was greeted warmly by a penguin-like trot from little Youichi, who flung out his tiny fat fists at Natsume's thigh, obviously attempting to give his brother a nice, strong punch. When he saw, however, that his Onii-san was in no way near affected, he gave it up and instead threw his arms around his kneeling brother's neck and said sweetly a nice, screechy "Ga' Mornin', Watchumi-nii!" before allowing his brother to carry him in his arms toward the dining room.

A little later, Natsume realized that they weren't going to use the usual dining room, which was Room Four, because they had Mikan, a guest. He turned his black head and red eyes to look at his baby brother who was sitting contentedly in his firm arms, and spoke.

"Youichi," he asked of the young boy, "which dining room are Mama, Papa, and Onee-chan using today?"

Youichi's teal blue eyes widened then flew upwards, his brows meeting as he put a stubby thumb into his mouth, a thoughtful expression on his face, before mumbling through the finger in his mouth a feeble, but nonetheless cute,

"Woom twee."

He smiled at his mini-me and ruffled his silvery-gray hair before setting off to the mentioned dining room.

* * *

Many people often wonder what the Hyuuga Manor looks like and what it actually _is_ and not many have been given much opportunity to know. Quite a few who've been able to marvel at its beauty dropped their jaws at a single glimpse of the one-thousand-seven-hundred-feet-tall architectural wonder. For instance, a lovely brunette from two weeks ago who walked out of a red Ferrari had to be pulled abruptly away from the front of the building just to get her out of her stupor. And she had good reasons too.

A mega structure located at a far-off corner of Tokyo near the flourishing green forests stood tall, proud, and bewilderingly mighty. As unusual as it may seem, it was a 1,740-feet tall skyscraper of 87 floors much farther away from the bustling midst of Japan. It was framed with pure titanium alloy and had windows, thousands of windows, made from the toughest fiberglass in existence. And that was just the façade.

Inside, however, was a completely different story. Ceilings were nearly twenty feet high; expensive and elegant crystal chandeliers dangled from the roofs of every floor level; the interior design was staggeringly immaculate, blending beauty and grace with an airy feel of welcoming; the furniture, made with either oak or ebony or ivory, were dressed in the best quality of silky soft velvet; the colors were brought together too perfectly, and these were colors one would never dare use together: crimson, navy blue, teal blue, gold, silver, purple, green, and black. Elevators doors were not steel, they were _oak_, and all around workers of the Hyuuga business empire rushed towards here and there, attending to whatever business they're supposed to take care of.

The Manor has six dining rooms, all located at Floor 87 (also called as the Dining Floor). There were six areas in total — of different dimensions, varying sizes — and they were created for the purpose of the frequent family gatherings held in that building. Room One is perhaps the largest of all and is enough to accommodate the entire Hyuuga clan, and Room Four as the smallest is the one the family usually uses on normal days. Room Two, Three, and Five were for guests, and Room Six was exclusively for Mr. Hyuuga's executive meetings.

So naturally, in a building this insanely huge, it is perfectly normal for a first timer like Sakura Mikan to get lost and reach the dining room nearly thirty minutes after being summoned, especially if the young man who was supposed to fetch her stubbornly refused out of sheer curiosity as to how long she'll find her way.

But he thought so too soon, because seconds later the door of room three busted open and there by the doorway stood a heavily panting brunette.

"I'm really, _really_ sorry, Aunt Kairi, Uncle Ayura, but I got lost and I don't know where to go and I came down twenty floors then back up again and I just — oh, I'm just so, _so_ sorry!" she cried to the room at large.

"Mikan, dear, calm down!" said Mr. Hyuuga, his eyes amused with the brunette's actions. He was obviously pleased with how the brunette was so amiable and he was glad. Mrs. Hyuuga went out her seat and gave Mikan a small pat on the back and steered her to her seat beside Natsume, who was studying her.

Her long hair was all over the place and her eyes roamed the entire area. As soon as she entered the room and broke from Mrs. Hyuuga's touch Youichi leapt from his lap and ran towards her, giving her a soft peck on the lips — and he couldn't help but feel a little jealous and scolded himself for feeling envy towards his _baby_ brother — while Aoi took out her hair brush and began fixing Mikan's hair. Truly the family has grown on her and she's grown on them ... most especially on him and Shino.

"Good morning, Natsume-kun," she chanted. He gave a small grunt and went on to look at her. And he looked at her differently, too; he knew that as well.

He looked at her and acknowledged how naïve she was in her pajamas and he saw her wide smile, which caught his interest. She looked like a four-year-old child and he very nearly smiled until _he_ spoke.

"Had a nice sleep, Mikan-chan?"

Oh, he would've spun right round and killed him with a spear to the neck had it not been for his immense emotional control. From behind them stood a morning-headed Shino, whom Mikan looked at with great joy. He scoffed loudly and she turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes but said nothing nonetheless.

"Yes, Shino-kun, I did. Thanks for asking," she replied. She then threw another questioning glance at him and smiled as she ate her breakfast; he was already done and had nothing to do than to occupy a bawling Youichi and helped cut the bacon into tiny bits so as to make him stop. He fed the bacon into Youichi's open mouth and from the corner of her eye, saw her smile again.

"Why do you have that ridiculous arrangement in your face?" he asked, his nonchalance remaining firm and whole. She merely glowered at him and said, "It's called a _smile_ you know. And don't speak like you're offended, as it was aimed to be a _compliment_; it looks so nice on you that you look so peaceful when you tend to Youichi. It's a nice change of scenery."

He was perfectly astounded at her remark. It was unusual of her to be this nice, especially in the morning, when the whole family has now been accustomed (in the course of the two weeks she stayed with them) to early-morning yells, most significantly during Mikan's first day, involving a slamming of the head, a glass of water upside down, and ... well, you don't need to know.

"Are you sure you didn't swap your brains inside the elevator when you went up and down this morning?" he asked, his brows furrowed. Mikan lightly giggled and nearly choked on her food; reaching for her glass and gulping down water, she said, "No, I didn't and I'm absolutely sure. I still think you're an arrogant bastard and a brash jerk."

He simpered. "Sure _is_ you; everyone else would've thought I'm a god."

This time she _did_ choke on her food as Mr. and Mrs. Hyuuga bade to say goodbye as they were to go out together with Aoi and Youichi. Through watery eyes she coughed out a lousy "Goodbye, take care" while Natsume patted her back and Shino took her glass and filled it with more water.

After her gag, Natsume rolled his eyes. "Seriously, can you get any more dramatic?"

"You? _You?_ A _god_?" she said, disbelief traced in every note of every syllable. He feigned an innocent look and formed his eye to be big and round and shiny when he said, "Why? Am I not?"

"Nope."

"They say I have the body of a god, you know."

"Yeah, of Buddha."

He primly folded his hands in front of his chest when Shino laughed from somewhere by the sink while filling up Mikan's glass. She, however, snorted then thanked Shino for the glass of water. He shrugged and with a smile, spoke to her, Natsume in a ravenous fit of jealousy and crumpling defeat.

"No problem, Mikan-chan. I'll just be up in my room to take care of myself and then maybe a little later we can both work on your novel, 'kay?" he said sweetly. "Maybe we can find out the dimensions of the paper and the cover of the book as well, and then a little after that we can proceed to copyreading all the chapters you've written."

It was obvious he was in love with her, all right. And it was obvious that he was enraged. Now he practically thanked his mother from taking Youichi from his arms; probably by now he'd be choking the poor baby by shoving in bacon to Youichi's little mouth every two seconds. He looked at his plate and saw the left over and crammed it into his mouth instead to stop himself from briskly biting out what he was dying to tell Shino. In the meanwhile, he watched and listened to the overfriendly exchange between his two objects.

Shino was now sitting beside Mikan and was stroking a strand of hair away from her face. Natsume, unable to control it any longer, stood up and pulled Mikan's arm, dragging her away from Shino and into the elevator.

"What the _hell_ was that about?" she snarled at him, "that was despicable!"

"Didn't you hear Mom and Dad during breakfast?" he said, keeping distance inside the spacious elevator. "Peak season's nearly over; we can go back to the mansion today and they'll be picking us up later at five in the afternoon."

She looked confused. "Peak season? Hyuuga Mansion? I — I don't get it."

He sighed. "But of course," he drawled, "you were late for breakfast."

"Hey!" she said indignantly, slapping his arm. "It wasn't my fault I'm still not used to this insanely huge building!"

He shrugged. "Whatever."

* * *

"So what _is_ peak season and where is the mansion anyway?" she asked as they walked slowly around the city later that day after lunch. They were headed towards the mall where they were to meet with the gang and the band. Thankfully they got over themselves and forgot all about the early morning scene. Mikan forgave Natsume, Shino helped Mikan write two more chapters, and all was well.

"Still not over it, huh?" he asked. "I guess I haven't got any choice at all." The mall was still blocks away so they had plenty of time to talk. He explained it all to her with sincere patience, albeit the impassive expression.

"Look, the Hyuuga Manor is not our home. It's sort of the company's headquarters and Mom and Dad are always there to attend to the family business and during peak season — _don't _interrupt," he said, raising his voice for Mikan was showing signs of interrupting, "— and they're rarely home at times like that. Peak season is the time of the year where clients and clienteles are abnormally abundant, usually between October and December, before the year ends, because that's when investors find more time and money to invest in various businesses."

"Go on. Tell me a story, or something like it," Mikan urged him on.

"Okay," he breathed out, "let's see..."

It took her by surprise that he was actually _ready_ and willing to share a story with her, but it made a smile creep on to her face.

* * *

"Back then Aoi, Youichi, Shino, and I were all holed up together in the mansion. You had no idea what torture it was to come home with straight A's and no one's there to celebrate for you; in fact, Youichi almost grew up not seeing his parents' faces and Aoi practically grew scared of them when they returned after two months, because they left her when she was still a baby — Youichi wasn't born yet. It was not a pleasant experience, you know, and almost all the time we had Aunt Ino — Shino's mother — to take care of us and after a while I began to doubt of my parentage. Ever since I was a child I only barely got to see them. I knew they were really sad, depressed even, that they had no time for their children, but nothing more could have compared to the incident two years ago, which eventually led to our staying at the manor when things were awry in the business, or during peak days.

"When he first learned to walk at eight months, Youichi was very difficult to manage. He would run around the house yelling in glee and would usually stumble and fall but still smile. He rarely did so, quite like me, but when he did it would usually be because of his own mishaps or of his own stupidities." A small smile lit Natsume's face at the thought of a baby zooming in and out of his bedroom door, screaming at the top of his lungs, while a young Shino chased him around. "It was all fine, despite the fact that we had no parents with us; we managed all right and we were fairly happy. Shino was as crazy as ever but had a knack for writing; Aoi kept on fiddling with my art materials and would suddenly produce beautiful art pieces out of nowhere; Youichi showed some attention to sprinting all over the house that sometimes we hardly found him at all; and me ... I was stuck with my music.

"But then it all went wrong. Youichi ran into a violent flu, and he was only a year and a half. He was shivering and his eyes were rolling back into their sockets and he was really sick. Mom and Dad only came back to the mansion to find that we were all gone and at the hospital, where Youichi was barely breathing; he was turning blue and almost dead and he nearly wouldn't have made it if I hadn't consented to giving him a blood transfusion using mine. It was days of agony. Being the eldest, I couldn't erase from my thoughts the look on his face when he went back inside the house and fainted on the threadbare carpet with a violent convulsion. But it all went all right and he soon got back into track." Mikan's eyes were faintly teary; Natsume was keeping his head trailed on the ground before him, as they continued walking towards the gigantic mall, which loomed closer, although a few minutes away still.

"Soon enough they found out that You-chan got the flu from a wandering dog somewhere around the lanes by the mansion. The dog fur caused a severe allergic reaction that Youichi's body, being a barely two years old, couldn't handle. Knowing that, they had all the carpets changed at the mansion and a wide berth was created between the gates and the house. They also decided that we move with them inside the manor during times when they were to stay for long periods to attend to various business matters. I was eighteen," he finished sourly. "I still can't forget how he gasped for his breath and he was only barely two. That's why I take so much care of Youichi."

Her eyes were round. "I never knew," she said, bowing her head, sounding close to tears already. He gave her a worried look.

"So at around five today we'll be leaving for the mansion. I'm sure you'll like it there," he continued, changing the topic in an attempt to lighten up the mood. He looked at her from the corner of his ruby eyes and continued. "The space was turned into a beautiful garden and I think you'll find it very suitable to your taste. Even the interior of the house would match your personality."

She looked up. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" he asked, heaving a great sigh.

"This...allowing me household space, being open...everything. Why?"

His eyes turned to her face and she saw the traces of longing marked in them. When he spoke, it was like forcing air out of his body. The mall entrance was now in plain sight.

"I —," he hesitated, turning away. "I want to... make amends."

"Amends?" she repeated. Her eyes were on him but they were glazed. Obviously she was remembering something from the past which was unwillingly brought back by his statement.

"I want to—" he was steeling himself to say something, but he was reluctant. "I want to... to come back to y—"

"Natsume!"

He looked miserable, as if a precious chance was taken from him (and truth be told it was), yet looked like he was grateful for the interruption still. Mikan ran to meet Ruka and Hotaru, who ushered her inside, saying Anna and the others were waiting for them.

"—you," he finished uselessly under his breath.

And there goes another chance spoiled. But he couldn't help but think, was he really ready for it anyway?

He shrugged off his thoughts. That was the third time it wandered off again, beginning from the day she came to live with them.

_Really_, he thought, _I'm going insane for her_.

And unexpectedly his conscience awoke, and if the interruption from Ruka wasn't enough to make his mind reel, his brain's sudden reply was.

_Nope. Just plain insane._

_Shut up,_ he thought back. One of these days he'll be voicing out these thoughts his alter ego kept throwing out at him. Damn.

_Defensive. But you _are _crazy_ _for her__, j__ust like you were back then._

Stupid conscience.

* * *

_Edited.  
~Ash._


	6. Impromptu

**DISCLAIMER. **(:

* * *

He thought the mall time wouldn't be so bad after all; with Youichi and Aoi gone and Shino out of the way, things were bound to be a little more silent, a little more peaceful. When he'd met with Ruka and the band with his guitar slung at his back he gave them his latest compositions and they studied it carefully; within a few minutes of practicing at the back of the mall's stage they nailed it.

That was the purpose of their coming to the mall: the band was to perform in front of the crowd for the launching of their second album, and part of the earnings will go to the Christmas fund they had for charity.

"Come to think of it," he heard Mikan say while they were coaching each other about the arrangement, "I've never heard a single song in the album."

"What?" yelled Koko, freezing in the act of tapping on his drums, "not a _single one_?"

She thoughtfully shook her head. "No, Koko-kun, I haven't…" Then her voice slowly faded, along with her focus. _He_ noticed this.

"If you want I can give you one. I have it an extra at home, I was given two copies," said Natsume absently. Mikan remained silent and far, far away, although registering what Natsume had said.

_I wonder what happened to him today,_ she thought a while after, confused at how suddenly he changed from the annoying and immature freak to the suddenly calm and collected and _nice_. She just didn't get it. And neither, she thought, did anyone else.

She was mistaken, because while the band prepared, one particular lady happened to have noticed this exchange of civil words between the two who have undeniably changed through the fortnight in each other's company; her mauve eyes darted back and forth and her brain took in everything sinister or suspicious. Hotaru, who, unlike others, never regarded with disbelief the possibility of those two "dunderheads" (as she called them) eventually falling for each other again, felt the springing friendship and the budding promise of romance reborn. She hid a smile as the two went on about their businesses and gave Ruka a quick peck on the lips.

Later that evening, she was going to join the Hyuugas at their mansion, where she was left by her mother for a serious business trip. She, being a sadistic strategist, considers this as a time to examine how these two will progress with each other in the next months. She noticed as well that Hyuuga more than often glances at the oblivious brunette and couldn't help but feel the need to smack her right in the head for being so downright stupid. But she would save those for later. Right now she needed to keep watch at the love birds.

* * *

Little did the others know about the recent discussion they had on the way. She was so startled to find that he trusted him enough after everything that happened between them that she couldn't get her head quite right. At times she would find herself in front of the gang, other times recounting the steps they took on their way here, and thinking about the story he told him. She felt a pang of guilt for what she did two nights ago…at how biased and prejudiced and judgmental she became. Add to that, she knew how shallow her reason was—she hated him, period.

When the time had come for the band to begin its performance, Mikan dawdled and told the others to wait for her and save her a seat. When they had gone the band went out as well, except for Natsume who was looking at her curiously.

"Anything wrong?" he asked. She shook her head rather nervously and after a few moments of steeling herself, began to stutter as she spoke to him.

"I—" the word got caught in her throat "—I want to…apologize. For my actions. I never knew it to be so…" she said weakly, her voice failing her. She knew that he too was remembering the incident in his room back at the manor when they had a talk.

"_You really think I'm marrying you?" she said through slanted eyes after having busted through his door. It was the night when his parents suggested wedding plans to them after her stay with the family._

_He just grunted and didn't bother looking up or budging from his current state: lying on his bed with a pillow over his head._

"_Natsume, I'm _not_ marrying you! I'm not even _engaged _to you for crying out loud!" she squealed, plopping herself down on his bed. This time he removed the pillow and looked at her through sallow eyes._

"_Look," he started, "it's not _my_ fault you sent a horde of hormonal women chasing after me; you could hardly blame me for turning it all out on you. It's hardly my fault Mom and Dad considered _us_ more serious than they had anticipated.__ Don't blame me for getting revenge. And stop acting like you don't know exactly how my mind works."_

You've known me long enough, after all,_ he thought to himself._

_"You're mad about what I did."  
_

"_It's not about that," came her muffled voice. She had sunk her face into his black mattress and her voice was defeated._

"_What's it about, then?" he asked her, unable to keep the hint of impatience in his voice._

"_It's about you and me."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"_

_She shrugged through her lying position. "We are both acting like stupid, crabby six-year-olds. Get hit, hit them right back. Maybe even a little stronger. But why? Why did you have to take it this far? Why do you take pleasure in torturing me?"_

"_Torturing you?" he said mockingly._

"_Don't act like you don't remember anything, Natsume," she replied coldly. Her hands were clasped and sitting neatly on her abdomen, tears beginning to form._

"_How could I forget?" he asked her, voice a sheer whisper. "And you say _I_ torture you." _

_She stood up, her eyes wallowing in tears. "You know what? I don't even know why I'm wasting my time trying to reason out with you! You're cold and heartless, you know that? You beat the crap out of anyone and everyone you meet and you suck the life out of them! Just like what you did with me! You took my life away, you know, and if I hadn't fallen in love your family, I would never have agreed to stay here! Somehow I feel _sorry _for Youichi and Aoi for having a brother like you!"_

_And she ran and slammed the door shut._

"Don't worry. It's…nothing. The marriage part was a joke," he said after the painful recollection. His red eyes trailed onto her smooth pale face. His hands were just yearning to touch it, feel it…just like they used to. He had half a mind to do so, but thought better and just feasted on her appearance. She barely stirred and kept her eyes on him.

Before he could do anything rash, however, he went outside, along with his band, and she went to the audience side, beside a seat between Anna and Hotaru in the front row. His eyes followed her tiny frame as she sat down.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," began Ruka, whose calming voice seemed to have caused a small sense of serenity in Mikan's palpitating heart. The encounter with Natsume hasn't taken its toll on her yet; she was sure she'd be reacting much more violently once he begins singing. _Damn_, she thought, keeping her hand at her heart.

"This afternoon we'll be singing songs from our upcoming second album, entitled _Essem_, and we're really hoping you'll continue supporting us."

"Oh, cut it Ruka," said Natsume impatiently in a small whisper to the blonde, running a pale hand through his sleek black hair and rolling his eyes, making the girls swoon with delight. His guitar, slung casually over his shoulders, was in the most silent shade of brown and orange, one fact that Hotaru did not dare miss.

Well, of course she knew about the title as well; she knew it was an acronym and she knew who it was referring to and she thought it was a good idea by the by. Of course, the one to whom it was referring to had no idea, as she really had half a mind of a troll and the other of an idiot's.

"Oh, all right. Mr. Perfect is getting all huffy here," teased Ruka. Natsume sent him a bone-shivering glare which he completely ignored. "We'll be singing two songs for today and the next remaining hours will be up to you to roam around the mall."

She heard the light tapping of Koko's sticks and Natsume' voice in a hushed count—and they began to play.

"This first song is called 'Used To'," said Natsume airily as she began strumming his guitar. "Enjoy."

He had his red eyes on wide brown ones when he began singing.

_You used to talk to me like  
I was the only one around  
You used to lean on me like  
the only other choice was falling down  
You used to walk with me like  
We had nowhere we needed to go  
Nice and slow, to no place in particular_

She wasn't stupid; she knew this song was for her. She did not need Anna's significant looks or Nonoko's gasp. She knew. She absolutely knew.

When he sang the chorus, she couldn't break free from his stares and her eyes began to tear. He smiled at her and she smiled back, and both were unaware of what they had been doing or the amount of attention they were raking.

_We used to have this figured out  
We used to breathe without a doubt  
When nights were clear, you were the first star that I'd see  
We used to have this under control  
We never thought  
We used to know  
At least there's you, and at least there's me  
Can we get this back?  
Can we get this back to how it used to be?_

The fans were screaming all around them. It wasn't hard to conclude that the entire mall population was dense at this part. Cire continued on playing their song while Natsume closed his eyes, trying to keep tears from spraying down.

_I used to reach for you when  
I got lost along the way  
I used to listen  
You always had just the right thing to say  
I used to follow you  
Never really cared where we would go,  
Fast or slow, to anywhere at all_

His arms were working furiously, and Mikan could see that. She saw how his arms strummed angrily on that guitar, and she saw his self-aimed fury at the way he thrashed his fingers against the fingerboard when he was doing leads.

_We used to have this figured out  
We used to breathe without a doubt  
When nights were clear, you were the first star that I'd see  
We used to have this under control  
We never thought  
We used to know  
At least there's you, and at least there's me  
Can we get this back?  
Can we get this back to how it used to be?_

"Mikan," said a cold voice beside her. "You are aware that this song is for you, right?"

She looked at Hotaru's violet ones, then back at the performing band. "Yes, I am," she replied weakly, "and I'm afraid of what the people are thinking right now."

"Don't be," said Hotaru. "Don't be scared of what people think; they rarely do that anyway."

She smiled and once more turned her eyes to him, and now she saw how maddeningly wrong she was about him.

But still, even after all this time, she couldn't bring herself to forgive him for everything he's done when they were young. She just couldn't.

_I look around me  
And I want you to be there  
'Cause I miss the things that we shared  
Look around you  
It's empty, and you're sad  
'Cause you miss the love that we had_

It was insane how he molded the words to fit them both; it drove her into the edge at how he manages to see right through her, and at the moment she couldn't seem to see anyone else but the band. She hated how he said things so _rightly_ and so confidently; it was unfair. Blatantly _unfair._

_You used to talk to me like  
I was the only one around  
the only one around_

His crimson eyes stared at her, piercingly, analyzing her and her thought, wondering… _Can the song get through to you?_

_We used to have this figured out  
We used to breathe without a doubt  
When nights were clear, you were the first star that I'd see  
We used to have this under control  
We never thought  
We used to know  
At least there's you, and at least there's me  
Can we get this back?  
Can we get this back to how it used to be? Yeah  
To how it used to be  
to how it used to be, yeah  
to how it used to be  
to how it used to be_

At last the song ended, and she was given a split second's worth of breathing time as the band ended with a final note. Natsume's eyes lingered upon something he couldn't see while he spoke about the next song.

"This next song," he said, slightly panting, "was written years ago, actually; four years ago, to be specific. This was written for the first girl I ever fell in love with and first largest mistake I did. It's entitled 'Sorry'."

_Will you listen to my story  
It'll just be a minute  
How can I explain  
Whatever happened here never meant to hurt you  
How can I cause you so much pain_

_When I say I'm sorry  
Will you believe me  
Listen to my story  
Say you won't leave me  
When I say I'm sorry  
Can you forgive me  
When I say I will always be there  
Will you believe, will you believe in me_

She never exactly learned how or why she was unable to shut herself away from Hyuuga Natsume's pleas, and this song made her feeling of unfairness amplify even more. Nonetheless, she felt her heart twinge and painfully crumple; the tears have stopped now, but inside it was constricting, it was difficult to breathe.

_All the words that I come up with  
They're like gasoline on flames  
There's no excuse, no explanation  
Believe me if I could undo what I did wrong  
I'd give away all that I own_

_When I say I'm sorry  
Will you believe me  
Listen to my story  
Say you won't leave me  
When I say I'm sorry  
Can you forgive me  
When I say I will always be there  
Will you believe_

_If I told you I've been cleaning my soul  
and if I promise you I'll regain control  
Will you open your door  
And let me in take me for who I am  
And not for who I've been, who I've been_

_When I say I'm sorry  
Will you believe me  
Listen to my story  
Say you won't leave me  
When I say I'm sorry  
Can your forgive me  
When I say I will always be there  
Will you believe me_

_When I say I'm sorry  
When I say I'm sorry  
When I say I'm sorry  
When I say I'm sorry  
When I say I'm sorry  
Can you forgive me  
When I say I will always be there  
Will you believe_

She couldn't help it. Her mind was now disengaged from her body and she barely had any more idea what was happening around her; the lyrics and the melodies of Natsume's songs rang in her head, as if she was the bell tower and they were the enormous bells, being rung by none other than Hyuuga himself.

* * *

"Mikan, are you coming?" Nonoko asked of a glazed-eyed Mikan.

She snapped out of her trance and smiled at Nonoko. "No, I think I'll stay here. You all can come back to me after a while. I don't think I'm in the mood."

After the gang bade her goodbye, she was left to some peace and quiet and her thoughts strayed from their first date to their kiss to how brutally it all had to end…

And she still didn't get why he still loved her after all these years. She did everything inhumane to him back then, after he told her: slapped him, ignored him, and even punched him hard marring his perfect face. But why? Why did he hang on after these years?

A part of her was screaming for release, for freedom—for forgiveness. She nearly caved in, too, but something held her firmly back.

_He lied! He lied to me! What was I supposed to do? Believe him again and then come back?_

But she couldn't lie to herself. She loved him.

"Sulking?" said a much-too familiar voice, breaking her away from her thoughts. She stiffened and she felt him sit down next to her.

"I thought you were with them?" she asked, hastily wiping her eyes on her handkerchief.

"I want to stay with you; any objections? I think I'm entitled to some alone time with my girlfriend," he replied. She looked at him with defiant eyes.

"You're unbelievable," she said, turning away. He chuckled lightly.

"Well, believe it. I'm definitely solid and I'm definitely in front of you."

She still remained silent.

From her peripheral vision she saw him reach out for her and strangely, even to herself, she made no move to stay away. All she did was close her eyes.

"Listen," he said, holding her face and facing her to him. "All of that was true. I hope that at least the lyrics penetrated your closed mind just so you could…understand."

The silence between them that came after his statement was so definite that even the noisy crowd walking all around them shrieking couldn't quite penetrate the thick blanket that suddenly came over them. She was beginning to get lost in his eyes again, although she was trying her hardest to stop herself before she lost control, and even he was keeping restraint upon himself, stopping himself from the hankering of his body to just lean forward and kiss her.

As she looked at him, she felt a long lost creature stir inside of her, sniffing the air for any hopeful signs of his good mood. In his chest his heart was growing abnormally, rather than it jumping to his throat. Everything at that moment was out-of-bounds and untouchable, yet it stood there in front of them, tangible and visible—at least for them.

A few more seconds passed and each was battling with their own thoughts, pacified with various ways of holding back what they felt at the moment: whether this was right or wrong, arguing within to stop, to think things through, to not let their emotions get the best of them. There they remained; trapped within each other's stares, ignoring the fact that there was at least a thousand people gawking at them and all were putting out cameras, shyly asking for Natsume's picture. They just…_sat there_, with nothing in there minds except the burning fact that they were so, _so _close…

All it needed was for her to breathe, and suddenly, he leaned forward and kissed her. All the self-control he had been maintaining vanished into thin air and he felt himself lost in her. She was as well, and they felt the overwhelming sense of completion fill them up as they gasped for air into the kiss.

She wasn't able to tell which emotion was which: everything around her just seemed to dissolve and she gave in, kissing him back with obvious passion, forgetting for a moment that they were in a public place and that people were gaping at them. Her hands found his hair and were lost in it. She felt herself growing hotter by the second despite the fact that it was winter. She had no interest on what was happening all over her…all she knew was that the gaping chasm inside of her was now slowly drawing to a close, as if it was all filled in by the kiss, as if the kiss became enough reason for her to understand why he lied —

— _lied_.

He lied.

He lied four years ago.

To her.

She broke from the kiss looking very rout, shaking all over and tears pouring from her eyes once again. Natsume looked frustrated with himself at what he's done and yet was looking at her, begging for forgiveness, asking her to please, _please_ return to him, just like his song…

But she ran away. Just like back then. Just like four years ago, when he'd told her the truth that broke both their hearts.

But for her, it was all different now. She finally felt what seemed like forgiveness, only one thing missing: she needed an explanation.

_Badly._

And she wondered vaguely as she hoisted herself into her bed back at the manor how things will be when he gets back.

Really, she needed to exercise some control over herself.

_Lunging at people,_ she thought bitterly at herself. _So much for self-control._

Suddenly, the hole in her chest burst open again, after having closed with the kiss.

* * *

_Edited.  
~Ash._


	7. Nights Like These

He kissed her, she kissed back, and then she ran away. Really, everything was so damn that moment that she could barely keep her head straight as she packed her bags, readying herself for the trip to the mansion later that afternoon.

"Stupid Mikan," she kept saying to herself, "s_tupid, stupid_ Mikan."

Blindly she threw this and that to the large tawny suitcase Natsume bought for her when she left the apartment. She smiled a little as she remembered how she ended up taking this suitcase after his insistence — he complained about the huge bulk of clothes she had and saw the bulging in her old red suitcase (almost only half of this one) and so he took her to the mall just before closing and purchased this Voyager bag for her (eventually after many irritating repetitions of "I'm fine with this one" and "Don't buy me anything").

After twenty minutes of reckless tossing and stomping all around her suite, she was finally done packing and the room was empty and lonely. Vaguely, she thought she heard the floor elevator's beep and suddenly thought of what she would do when Natsume got here. She walked mechanically towards the bed and plopped, face down, into it; she barely noticed the light creak of her oaken doors and the muffled thuds of designer flip-flops.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you; sulking never does much good to the skin."

She started; she knew that voice anywhere. Hell, the perfection, the silky velvet of that fluent speech could only belong to one woman, because her male counterpart was none other than her brother, which she had to admit halfheartedly. She lifted her brunette head and saw marble-like formations of jade eyes framed by a shock of long green eyelashes pasted on an alabaster skin that looked so fragile. She was leaning by the edge of the door wearing bleach white shorts and a yellow halter, her short curled hair resting lightly on her shoulders, the tips cascading down to the middle of her torso.

"Permy? Oh—is everyone back?" she asked, getting up from her pathetic lying position and sitting down on the bed. Sumire rolled her eyes gently and closed the door. She walked towards Mikan and sat down beside her, leaning her body on her arms.

"Well, obviously. Mom and Dad got over their discussion as to which flowers to buy for your room at the mansion and so we got home earlier than scheduled," she said; Mikan began babbling apologies for the bother but Sumire cut off her. "_Don't_ apologize. It's our pleasure to make you feel at home; it's a Hyuuga family trait to be so accommodating. And will you _please _stop calling me _Permy_? It's such an ugly name."

She looked at the brunette from the sides of her eye and saw the corners of her mouth twitch a bit before reverting from its original position: a miserable frown. She looked out the window to her right then back again to the morose lady beside her.

"So, what happened to you?" Sumire inquired, eyeing Mikan with a critical gaze. "You look like you've been dumped in hell twice for the past hours."

She watched as Mikan's eyes reflected a trickle of surprise; seconds later she gave a forced laugh and scowled at the carpet beneath their feet. Surely nothing could be so horrible as to erase the smile from her face? More and more Sumire keeps getting curious. _What happened?_

Mikan turned a watery gaze towards her while brushing the tears away and through suppressed sobs she mustered a few words. She seemed to have thought it through, and evidently she wasn't in the mode for any sort of light discussion.

"What…" she was steeling herself to ask what she wanted to know, "—what's Natsume like?"

Now it was her turn to be taken aback. What kind of question was it? Who asks about her brother anyway? Except for fan girls, of course…

"You're asking what kind of a brother he is," Sumire clarified, confused. What did her brother have to do with her now? And wasn't she his girlfriend? She should know it himself. _Although_, Sumire reasoned out_, given that we've never met her before, maybe she knows nothing about what Natsume's like as a brother._

"Uh-huh," Mikan said, hiccuping slightly. "I just…wanted to ask."

Sumire perked an eyebrow and turned away from her, drawing a great breath. She thought for a second or two and decided that it wouldn't be dangerous enough to tell her. Although admittedly she still did not see what this was all about.

"Well, I don't know what your purpose is by asking that, but fine. I'll oblige to answer your question. Mostly he's the quiet, caring guy." She was still looking away from the brunette, her arms supporting most of her weight, her long white legs crossed. "He attends to us very often and at times when Mom and Dad aren't around you'd actually think he's our father. There are times though when he ends up going crazy and he suddenly laughs from nowhere. He's not like how critics see him at all."

Mikan's unwavering gaze pushed her further on. She looked amused at her innocent curiosity, and though she never told anyone this story, she decided it was safe to do so to her.

"I first met him properly when I was seven."

"Seven?" Mikan said, curious about the long time they hadn't seen each other. They were supposed to be together, weren't they? And suddenly, an insane idea popped into her head and before she could stop herself, she said it aloud. "Why? Are you…adopted?"

Sumire scowled, her green eyes sparkling with furious indignity as her green head snapped towards her. She looked absolutely livid. "I am most certainly not!" she screamed. A second later she looked thoughtful. "But I get why you think that, so I guess I understand. I know you think it's a long time for brother and sister not to meet. Weird, isn't it? But I'm a pure Hyuuga, so no need to question my parentage. I know that for sure.

"No. I wasn't adopted, but Mom took me to Paris when I was two so I could spend my years growing up there, being taken care of by my Aunt Shizuka, dad's sister. They'd visit me every after a few weeks, just after their stay at the mansion, you know, after peak seasons. You know peak seasons, don't you?"— Mikan nodded, Sumire looked satisfied and plowed on —"Well, surely it pains them to keep me separated from my sibling, since there were only two of us back then, but they had to do it, for both of our well-being."

She threw the black comforters over both their bodies; the two girls had now settled down by lying in Mikan's bed as Sumire told her story.

"'_Well-being_?'" the brunette scoffed as she clung to the blanket and stared at the ceiling. "Why?"

Sumire gave a sour laugh and propped her head against her palms, elevating her head and leaving her room to gaze at the curious brown-headed girl. "You don't know, do you? I did tell you, you still had a lot to learn about Natsume."

"Go on," Mikan pushed her, turning to her side. They were face to face in bed and amber bore deeply into jade.

"When he was still young, Natsume" — she gulped — "_hated _me. I never really knew why, but I guess it was jealousy. There were times when he'd just keep quiet whenever I was asleep and he'd settle down beside my crib, crying; most of the time he'd spend his days torturing me…you know, taking away my toys, pinching me, and all that. Eventually they said I began fearing him that I'd just lock myself up in my room and never come out if he's around. Mom and Dad also noticed how much he would change whenever I was around him, and so decided to bring me far away from him."

A glint of black passed right through her green eyes before it became glazed.

"When I came back, however," she said, after snapping out of her trance, "Natsume was changed. He took me in with a small smile. He was eight and I was seven, and we became the best of friends. Every start of term, though, I'd leave for Paris. That's why you never met me back at the academy. I was in Paris studying. I was alone and it was…sad.

"But every summer when I come home he'd always keep me busy. Natsume'd take me to different places and he'd show me this and that. He _is_ the best brother one could eve have. People — even Aoi — think I'm in love with my own brother and that I'm a rabid fan girl—and in some cases I must be—but the truth is I just really love him. You really can't tell what kind of person he is just by looking at him; the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' most aptly applies to him."

Mikan's eyes were closed. Sumire nudged her gently by the arms, asking "Are you still awake? Mikan?" and yet the brunette merely turned to the other side and snored lightly, making Permy roll her eyes, annoyed but amused at the same time.

_The brunette actually fell asleep,_ she thought as she clambered out of the black bed. She checked her watch; it was four-fifteen. Forty-five minutes more for the brunette to rest. In the back of her mind she thought she knew what had happened to the brunette that made her be so, but before she could mull it over any further as she reached the door, she heard Mikan mumble lightly in her sleep.

"_Natsume_…"

* * *

"Oi, Polka-dots."

She awoke with a start and sat up while looking around saying "Where's the fire?" when her eyes met his crimson ones and a heavy, dark scowl appeared in her beautiful face. She begrudgingly lied back down to bed and covered her face with a pillow.

"What're _you_ doing here?" she asked, her voice muffled by the cushion. He rolled his eyes and sat down beside her bed, leaning on the bedside drawer with his head bowed.

"We're leaving for the mansion," he said simply, running his pale hand through his thick black hair. "You need to get up."

And get up she most certainly did, leaving him alone inside her room. He let out a defeated sigh and followed after her.

"Mikan," he said from across the hallway. She stopped but did not turn around; she merely replied unemotionally a short "What?" and for the second time he sighed.

"You're leaving for the mansion without your things?" He rolled his eyes at her childishness. She groaned and trudged past him without even looking him in the eye; now his patience was getting tested, and truth be told, he didn't think he could control his rage at the moment, when he himself was so awfully distressed about the afternoon's proceedings.

He felt a gush of wind and looked up to see her dragging her brown suitcase rather difficultly down the hall. He gave a tiny crooked smile which was gone in an instant and rushed forward to help her. She struggled at first but allowed him to take her luggage all the same. She gave him a stony glare, but as he looked more closely, her eyes betrayed her. The murky brown was distorted by a depth that he knew could go on for miles, and he saw the whirl of emotions inside her. Well, that was what she was: her eyes were the windows to her soul.

He eventually lost track of time; he did not remember going into the elevator or ramming the number 75 on the floor selection or even opening the doors to his father's second office. All he remembered was the fact that his hands were curled tightly around a cold steel handle and that Mikan Sakura barely spoke a word to him throughout the entire way.

He heard Mikan's audible gasp as they entered the room and immediately ran forward to greet little Youichi and Aoi, both of whom planted kisses on her cheeks (Youichi took the liberty of running, with his little penguin trot, into her arms). She then went to Sumire and gave her a small hug and kissed Shino lightly on the cheeks before returning to his side.

His anger, which was already receded on the way, had flared alive at the look of contentment on Shino's face.

"Mikan, Natsume," Mr. Hyuuga acknowledged. Mikan gave a bright smile to the latter's direction while he gave a small grunt. Mikan went forward to give Mrs. Hyuuga a short kiss on the cheek and went over beside Shino. Now he was really furious.

The door creaked open and in came another raven-haired girl. Mikan smiled widely and ran forward to meet her best friend and hugged her, staying with her the whole while that they were in the room.

When they were all settled (Mr. and Mrs. Hyuuga seated and the rest in a circle around them, standing up), Mr. Hyuuga cleared his throat and began the plans for their trip to the mansion.

"Now, the mansion is quite far from here," he began, his eyes alight with joy, "and the van is a little too small for all of us. Hotaru here is joining us until her parents come back from Milan, and Natsume's band as well — they're waiting for us downstairs, along with your friends, Mikan dear"—Mikan started and squealed with glee—"I believe they are Anna and Nonoko, and so we will be having trouble with the arrangement of people inside who's cars. So we have decided that Aoi and Youichi will come with us inside the van, along with your possessions, while the band — excluding Natsume — will be taking Koko's Grandia. Now the problem lies with your four," he pointed at Mikan, Shino Hotaru, and Natsume. "Who'll be going with whom? So we decided that Mikan goes with Shino and Hotaru goes with Natsume. If there any slight objections, I'd rather you say them now, because it's a three-hour drive, and your companion will be a good thing."

Mikan and Shino were reasonably pleased, but Hotaru knew better that Hyuuga Natsume was currently in a bad mood. If his aura was set in daggers, nearly everyone in this room would be dead by now. Thinking that only the young brunette at the far end of the room could control this blazing man, she spoke in her monotone drawl.

"I think I'll go with Shino," she said, much to general astonishment; Mikan face was pulled down, the grin sliding off her face like slime; Shino looked like he'd been smacked in the face with a baseball bat, and Natsume's head slightly cocked upwards, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Hotaru," Mikan said, pleading. Hotaru merely shook her head.

"I don't think it'll do me any good, Uncle Ayura, staying with your _talkative_ son. And seeing as we're both so _enthusiastic_ about speaking to each other, I don't think I'll enjoy the journey that much."

Mikan groaned and Natsume smirked, sending Hotaru a gaze that clearly meant "_I owe you one; check your bank account later tomorrow."_ Hotaru's mouth yanked upwards, and in a split second the two of them were suddenly caught in a quick laugh only the two of them understood.

"What are you laughing about?" Mikan suddenly said indignantly as Hotaru and Natsume enjoyed the laugh still. None of them replied but Natsume suddenly grew interested at her tone, and all forbearing rage of that afternoon was suddenly dissolved into thin air. He stepped forward and towered over her, his smirk still in his perfect face, ignoring a scandalous Shino. Her look of surprise was nothing compared to the look in her eye that says clearly of what she truly felt inside, although he doubted she knew of it herself.

"You sound jealous, Polka," he said, his breath fanning her face.

She closed her eyes then turned around, crossing her arms and puffing her cheeks as she usually did when flustered. "I am _not_, Hyuuga. Please don't let your over-sized ego take over your imagination; I am not jealous of you staying with Hotaru while inside the car."

The second after she said that he knew she regretted it; his smirk grew even wider it almost looked like it hurt. He'd never been this amused in his entire life.

"Whoever said it was about Imai staying with me? Better watch your words, Sakura," he said, waving away her retort and saying to the room at large, "We'll leave now, Mom, Dad."

Before he left he hugged Aoi and ruffled Youichi's hair before ramming his knuckles gently on his little brother's closed fist.

"Bye-bye, Watchumi-nii," Youichi said, pulling at his brother's pants and kissing him when he was low enough for him to reach.

Natsume took the handle of Mikan's luggage and closed the door, leaving her inside the room. She screamed furiously and ran after him.

"Well, this is interesting," said Mr. Hyuuga as Mrs. Hyuuga pretended to fix her bag during the lovers' quarrel, the corners of her mouth pulled upwards. "They are definitely something to look out for."

"Yeah," Hotaru seconded, "definitely."

And then she beckoned to a miserable-looking Shino to carry her bag. The latter looked disgruntled as Mr. Hyuuga sent him an apologetic look, infuriating him even more.

* * *

"Get in."

"No. I want to go with Shino."

"Fat chance, seeing as they're already _gone_, genius. Now get in."

"No."

He slammed his fist into the hood of the pearl white Ford Fusion and glared at her, his brows furrowed. She returned the glare with one of the same intensity, her hands firmly crossed across her chest, her body stiff and her feelings rigid.

"Why are you so damn difficult, Sakura?" he growled, still looking at her through angry red eyes. His voice, though a little less restrained than normal, was cold with burning anger; they were already a little over fifteen minutes behind schedule. "They've all _left_! Can't you see? We're the only freakin' _people_ left out here! Pull yourself together, you idiot, and get in the damned car!"

"Don't—" she said, moving towards him and ramming her finger against his firm chest, "—call me an _idiot_."

"Well then get in the car, stupid," he lazily spat back at her. He went around and opened the driver's door and revved the engine. On the other hand, she stood there beside the passenger seat door, remaining as stubborn as ever, refusing his last warning. He rolled down the passenger window.

"Get in."

She didn't move an inch. He shrugged, and as he closed the windows, he rammed on the gas and sped away. Senses caught up with her and instinctively she yelled, her feet suddenly awakening from a slumber. From afar she could see his triumphant smirk and made a mental note never to fall for his parlor tricks ever again.

"No! Wait! Alright! I'm coming! I'll get in the goddamn car!" She ran after the humming contraption which stopped a few feet from her, and catching her breath, she wrenched the pristine door open and primly sat against the smooth velvet of the seat, looking out the window, breathing huffily. "Cold-shoulder" must have been literal, because Natsume felt the car temperature drop several degrees upon her entering. After that, however, she barely spoke a word and kept her arms crossed so tightly it look like she was never going to unravel it again for years.

He began to clear out of the manor driveway and out into the highway.

* * *

He was getting impatient and so he decided to speak first.

"This is about what happened this afternoon, isn't it?" he asked, daring her to deny her thoughts. He occasionally glanced at her and what he saw irritated him even more.

"Will you at least _say something_? It is _so_ out of your character to be so quiet," he desperately said in an attempt to liven up the moment. Five minutes inside the car and this was all you got. He was already scared of the prospect of spending the entire trip in stone-cold silence and he was not too proud to deny that he was really in need of any kind of recognition from her. Even if she showered him with a stream of profanities — and he knew she wouldn't, but he was hoping at least — he'd gladly take it. He just wanted her to _say_ something.

"Please," he said; his voice was now soft and lonely. "Speak. Say anything. Blab about my pride, my ego. Scourge me. Beat me to death with insults that don't even _sound _insulting because they come from you. _Say something. _The silence is driving me crazy."

It was then that he noticed that she was looking at something by the dashboard and realized that it was their first ever CD. He hastily plunged his hand towards it and inserted the CD into the player, taking her by surprise.

"I—I'm sorry," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. He rolled his eyes and waited for the CD to load. Ten minutes. Well at least things were improving. Although he knew that was the wrong word.

"You're sorry," he repeated, scoffing, a few minutes later. "Sorry for what?"

She looked in front of her without really seeing anything. When she spoke, it was like she was from a distance; her voice had no contempt, no anger, no nothing…it was almost unnerving.

"I'm sorry—just that."

He scowled. "Well, that clears things up."

"Can't I be sorry for no reason?" she said testily, and they barely noticed the songs were already playing.

"No. You can't be sorry for nothing, dolt," he drawled, his irritation slowly fading away. He chanced a glimpse at her and saw that she was frozen again. A second later he realized she was listening to the song; he smiled, yet he was a little annoyed because she hadn't heard his last statement; that would've been a nice fight if she heard.

She spoke with her eyes glazed; her full attention was snagged by the song.

"You…" she mumbled distractedly.

"I what?"

"I—you—nothing," she said.

And the next few flies that made soft contact with his windshield were witnesses to the sudden safe, comfortable silence between them, along with the interior of the car who saw the change of auras.

* * *

In an effort to distract herself, she took a notebook from her backpack at the back of the car. Rummaging through it she found that she had no pen.

"I haven't got a pen," she said, stopping her search. She threw the bag back to the back seat and stared at the cover of her worn-out diary; it was still the same. It still had the same old yellow butterfly sewn onto its leather cover, the same gold ribbon stuck to it, the same golden lock and key…

She heard his light chuckle.

"You still have that diary," he noted, keeping his eyes on the road. Her brown eyes scanned the lengths of his face and saw nothing sinister, so she took it as a harmless comment.

"Yeah," she said, opening the cover and proceeding to look at the second page, where she wrote a small introduction.

_January 1—a New Year's gift from Natsume Hyuuga._

_This is my first ever diary, given to me by my half-mortal-enemy. I like this a lot. No matter what I think of nobody will scrutinize me or tell me that what I think is horrible…this diary will take everything I write without a single speck of complaint._

_And I am very thankful._

She gave a light snarl, thinking of how stupid she was at that time to write something as _horrible_ as that, and read the last ever entry. It was over four years ago.

_November 27._

_Yeah, what a beautiful day. I dumped myself into the trash can, slipped on a banana peel, and kissed Natsume Hyuuga in public after he blackmailed me to doing so. Wow. What a wonderful day —_

She slammed the diary shut and closed her eye. _Damn, why do I have to be reminded of that now?_

"You okay?" Natsume asked, carefully turning to the right, his crimson eyes bright and amused. "You haven't got a pen. Well, it's not just you who keeps keepsakes the same way, you know."

She was baffled by this declaration, unable to decipher what he meant, but moments later (with a small "Oh!") she realized what he must've been talking about, because she reached out towards his right jean's pocket. He looked shocked because she just took it from him like nothing, but did nothing rash. When she sat up in the passenger's chair, she saw the familiar blue fountain pen she had given him—well, he borrowed it and never gave it back—when they were in sixth grade.

"You still have it?" she asked through bright wondering eyes. "After all these years and you never told me when we were in high school?"

Suddenly, the semi-miserable aura inside the car lightened greatly. Natsume answered her, a small knowing smile lighting up his face. "Why? You're not exactly one to contradict, you know. And you never thought of asking, so why should I tell you? And now you speak to me like I exist? A while ago you seemed intent on ignoring me and keeping your mouth shut for the rest of eternity."

She looked at him long and hard and he looked back as they waited for the red light to turn green. She looked—well, _stared_—at him, searching his face hungrily for any sign of impatience or love or whatever it was she was looking for anyway. She was asking him questions, but not actually saying a word, and he was doing exactly the same.

Suddenly, with a flash of red and amber, they understood what this ride was meant to be for them. Both of them needed to take a break from this horrible fight they were so forcefully waging…both of them needed a truce.

"Okay, okay," she said, laughing wholeheartedly and finally managing to look away from his firm gaze, "fine! Fine, I get it."

He looked relieved but surprised that they had managed to stare at each other that long without any glaring or leering. "Get it? Well that's new; you never really get anything."

She threw him a playful glare but ignored his jibe. She smiled again and took a deep breath. The light was still red and she closed her eyes.

"Alright. Fine. We'll have a truce for tonight—and _just_ for tonight."

He laughed and a brilliant smile emanated from his figure. The smile engulfed them both, and without command from her muscles, she beamed as well.

"A _truce_? Seriously, Mikan, do you think we're waging a war here?" he said, still not over the foreign feeling quite close to euphoria and laughing harder than he'd ever done. _Where does this girl get her ideas?_ He mused.

She laughed with him, keeping her eyes closed. But when his words sunk in, however, she stopped abruptly.

"Why?" she said suddenly, stopping him as well. "Weren't we waging a war? I thought we were…"

A laugh again. "You're crazy," Natsume said, much to her chagrin. "Well, _thank you_ for making it known, Master Hyuuga!" she yelled back. She looked livid and her cheeks were puffed up, and he, instead of shutting up like she intended him to, merely laughed again. Unable to stand it anymore and finding Natsume's rapture ultimately infectious, she cracked a smile which led to a long session of chortling.

When they got over it (which was a few seconds later; the traffic light was still red) she suddenly grabbed the notebook, turned to the last page, and scribbled with the pen, her teeth in between her tongue.

He just looked and looked and looked at her, finding it funny how she never changed her ways; she still wrote in that diary with her left hand, she still stuck her tongue out whenever she concentrated, and she still mumbles when she writes.

"There! All done," she said. By that time Natsume already noticed the weird behavior of the traffic light, because the stop light was still red. How long would it stay that way, he didn't know. _And I certainly do not care_.

"What's that?" he said, keeping his tone light. This was a one-time chance; this was his chance to come out of his shell and be himself around her after four years of unwanted separation.

"A contract," she said brightly. He smirked. _Typical Mikan,_ he thought_, a contract for a three-hour truce?_

"Give that to me," Natsume said, grabbing the notebook. She pulled it out of his reach.

"Nu-uh, Mister," she said. She felt nice … it felt _good_ to be on good terms with him again. It was like breaking free from a hard defense. She checked the time on the dashboard: 7:40. They'd been on the road for twenty-five minutes already.

She had to accept it though: she missed him. Much, _much_ more that she would acknowledge in front of his smug face.

"I'll sign it first," she said, putting a thoughtful finger on her chin.

This time they didn't notice the light go green and the cars rushing past them, some honking loudly telling them to snap out of it and get a move on already.

She handed the notebook then to Natsume, who signed it in a jiffy with his clean-cut script.

"There! So now, Natsume Hyuuga, we have a truce," she said in a businesslike tone, smiling a dazzling smile. She held out one small hand and he took it and shook it, her hands completely lost in his wide grasp.

From behind them, an impatient gruff voice said, "Are you two done doing _sweetie-sweeties_ or are you gonna wait for next winter before you get a move on?"

* * *

Their loud laughs drowned the sound from the car stereo; the first _Cire _CD lay abandoned on top of the dashboard.

"And remember when you actually spat your soda on Kitsy back then when Luna professed her love for you? That was hilarious!" she said, her silvery laugh driving him insane. They'd been on the road for nearly an hour and a half already, and his throat was raw with laughter. It almost tore when he breathed in and out, but he was happy with what came in exchange.

They had been doing this for over an hour already. They were still far from their destination, but it felt like they've been driving for days. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face as she animated old anecdotes, every now and then pointing out that somewhere in the past he'd been stupid and idiotic as well.

"Well, at least I didn't _stay_ that way," he said, after Mikan's retelling of his crazy idea of setting Hotaru and Ruka up, ending himself with a particularly nasty hit from Hotaru and Ruka's angry fists. "Unlike some people," he teasingly added.

"Oh, shut up," she said, slapping him playfully in the arm. He smiled and stuck out his tongue at her when all of a sudden, the car gave a low grumble and the engines went dead.

"What the—" he began, turning the key in the ignition, trying to restart the car. Mikan, who had been laughing, stopped abruptly and joy was instantly replaced with fear. It was past eight in the evening and night was drawing in fast, and when she looked out of her window, she saw nothing. They were in the middle of nowhere.

Natsume was silently cursing as he kept on turning the ignition, trying to make his car somehow wake up. The mansion was still miles away, an hour's drive at the very least. Finally giving up, he went out of the car and opened the hood.

He was engulfed by black smoke the moment the hood popped open.

"Oh, damn," he said as he checked the various parts. He heard the passenger door close and heard the small pattering of her feet against the gravelly ground but he didn't look up. Instead, he lifted his arms and took off his shirt, leaving it on his shoulders as he began fixing anything out of place with the car.

She watched him nudge here and there, fix this and that, move this to here and this to there. She just watched his expert hands move all across the car's system and he was panting when she broke the news.

"Um, Natsume?" she began warily, wondering what his reaction would be once he found out; she didn't even want to think about it, but she had no choice.

"What?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the car parts.

"We ran out of gas."

She watched him stiffen and slowly met his flaming gaze, biting her tongue to stop herself from giggling.

"You didn't even tell me?" he growled, his eyes narrowed. "You knew all along and you didn't even _think_ of telling me?"

His tone was gruff and definitely mad; _this_ irritated her.

"You're _mad_ at me?" she exclaimed, narrowing her eyes to tiny slits.

"Of course I'm mad!" he said, his voice growing louder. "You knew all along that we ran out of gas and instead you just watched me work?"

A moment's silence and the stone-cold reaction were so tangible. Neither of them spoke, each other keeping their backs to themselves.

* * *

He realized, after some time when his head had cooled down, that his overreaction was way uncharted, so he decided to start a favorite pastime instead: the usual bickering. It was one way to get the anger drained completely from her system.

"God, you're desperate, Sakura."

Her head snapped. "What?"

"Oh, stop the charades. You're desperate. You didn't tell me we ran out of gas so you could watch me work the car half-naked."

"Oho!" she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously, "and _I'm_ desperate? Listen to yourself, Hyuuga, you egotistic moron!"

"Whatever. You just can't let yourself say that I'm really just plain hot."

She was about to retaliate but the words got stuck to her throat; involuntarily, her eyes roved around his bare torso.

Truth be told, he _was_ hot. He was a six-pack-stud, and seeing him there with low-waist jeans and shirtless was indeed kind of breathtaking, but that didn't stop from hating him even more, especially when she noticed she'd been staring at him and he was smirking smugly.

"I told you," he said. "Come on, Sakura, admit it. This is all _your_ fault."

"A while ago you accused me of being _desperate_, and now you're saying that your stupid car's breakdown was my fault?" she spat, inwardly thankful that he didn't react to her sudden swoon.

"It was."

"Wasn't."

"Was."

"Wasn't!"

"Was."

"_Wasn't!_"

"I thought we were supposed to have a truce?" he asked out of the blue, interrupting their ludicrous "Was-Wasn't" exchange.

"Wasn't — what?" she said, clearly stunned at his sudden change of subject.

"A truce, Sakura Mikan. We're supposed to have one."

It finally hit her head. "Oh, yeah…right."

He snorted and laughed lightly at her idiocy.

"Truly you are the world's greatest idiot."

"What did you say?" she said, eyeing him suspiciously. He laughed again and instead told her, "Let's just call the guys, tell them to pick us up, eh?"

* * *

"My phone's dead," she said, shocked. He snapped his head upwards, defeated because he found out that his phone was deadbeat hours ago. The only chance left was Mikan's, and apparently, that one option was lost as well.

He grunted, but he let it drop anyway.

"That clears things up," he said nonchalantly, standing up and taking out his guitar from the trunk of the car. They had been leaning against the hood of his car for the past twenty minutes, stuck in the middle of nowhere with no connections to anyone anywhere with a dead vehicle. Fortune just seemed to want to make their moments last a little longer.

"What's been cleared?" she said hopelessly, staring at her lifeless phone, as if somehow it would start beeping again so they could call Hotaru and the others. "We haven't got any way out, we're alone and in the middle of nowhere…what do we do?"

"We wait," he replied simply. He was back beside her and he clambered onto the hood, tuning his guitar. He was still shirtless.

She stared blankly at him. "_Wait_?" she repeated, her face sallow, wary, tired. It was nearly nine already, and it took just a small dose of common sense to figure out that no car will ever pass the highway at a time like that.

"Yes," he said, beginning to play a song, "we wait."

She groaned. "I don't like the idea that much," she whined as she, too, went to sit on the hood in an Indian sit, staring across the distance to the small collection of lights ahead of them, obviously miles away still.

He, who was playing idly on his guitar, suddenly thought of a funny idea which he knew she'd spank him for, but did it nonetheless. Knowing it would cause him a few bruises and most probably a black eye, he took his chances and took the plunge.

As she was looking off into the distance, he grabbed her waist and poked it, shouting "Boo!"

As predicted, she shouted at him so loudly and chastised him by repeatedly hitting his head with her sandals; she nearly fell off the side of the car had he not grabbed her waist and pulled her back to safety, laughing heartily at her reaction.

"_You" —_hit— "_FILTHY" —_hit— "SNEAK-THIEF!" she screamed, finally growing exhausted. "YOU NEARLY HAD ME KILLED OF HEART ATTACK! I hate you," she mumbled, putting her face in between her knees. He just kept laughing; suddenly he stopped and gently began playing a melody.

"_And I'd give up forever to touch you_," he began, his eyes on her small frame. She raised her head and looked at him dubiously.

"'_Coz I know that you feel me somehow," _his dark red eyes boring holes into hers. She was still rooted to the position, unmoving.

"_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be and I don't wanna go home right now_," he continued. She was now smiling and rolling his eyes at him. She settled her chin on her left kneecap and listened to his song.

_And all I can taste is this moment  
and all I can breathe is your life  
and sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight_

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
or the moment of truth in your lies  
when everything feels like the movies  
you bleed just to know you're alive_

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am  
And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

* * *

"I missed you," he said, after the song ended. His guitar was between him and his chest, and his eyes were still into hers.

She snorted. "I bet you did," she replied, sarcastically. Her eyes, strangely, made no protest to looking back at him with nothing but innocence.

"No, come on. I'm being serious here. I did," he said, shaking his head and still looking at her as he donned his shirt.

She smiled. "You know, I'd have to say I actually did, too."

He snickered. She raised an eyebrow.

"But don't let it get to your head, Natsume. It's only in effect until the truce is over," she added defensively. Still, he laughed airily and put down his guitar.

"Crap," he said, more to himself than to her; he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her in for an embrace, "can't I give up everything just so this never ends?"

She smiled a carefree smile and allowed herself to be in the hug, not bothering to answer his rhetorical question; she knew what he felt, anyway, because it was _exactly_ what she felt at the moment, too. "I missed you so much," she said, her voice muffled by his chest. She wound her tiny arms around his lean waist and breathed his scent in. "I might kill you after this, though," she added thoughtfully, looking up from her present position. He only nodded and grinned.

"Sure," he said, stroking her hair. "I'm ready for that. In fact, with the way you seemed to have surrendered for tonight, I might just _be _dead already. I wouldn't be surprised if I never woke in the morning."

She slapped his chest and wound her arms tighter around his waist, planting a small kiss at the base of his neck. He closed his eyes and savored the moment her lips touched his skin. Colors flashed behind his eyelids and there was nothing but bliss and pain inside him that moment. He began to sincerely regret what he had done four years ago, wondering how he managed to make it for four years living without this kind of feeling inside him.

"You know, I really think I _am_ dead already," he said teasingly, just so he could divert his thoughts from the track it was headed for. "That kiss felt awkward. And _wet_."

"Oh, shut _up_ Hyuuga," she said playfully, withdrawing her arms from his waist and bringing them closer to her, inside his embrace. "I know you loved it, either way, wet or dry."

"I love _you," _he countered, "so maybe I could love wet kisses, too."

Another playful slap hit his chest. He breathed in and smiled in contentment. When he opened his eyes he saw a falling start and wished things would be back to where they really belonged—right in this moment.

It was one of those nights Natsume Hyuuga would never, ever forget.

* * *

_Edited. (:  
~Ash._


	8. A Leak in the Glass

Morning dew was stuck to her lashes and her eyes flickered with the sudden light that hit her closed lids. When she opened them, she was surprised that she was already inside a black-white-and-red room that was larger than the one she had at the manor. She sat up and almost immediately held her head; it was aching like hell, throbbing painfully as if someone or something had hit it. She plopped back to bed and groaned miserably, twisting to her side.

"You idiot. You bloody, _bloody_ idiot."

She froze at the sound of the voice. She turned back around, wary, wondering what on earth it was doing here inside a room where she was supposed to be _alone_. Hearing that voice at this hour of the morning never meant good; often it was a sign of danger and a warning to take cover or run with your head ducked. Tantamount to Armageddon, only a lot worse because you had robots and gadgets that make you want to just die a natural death.

"You had us worried _all night long_. Where was your cell phone?" the girl said again, her amethyst orbs aflame with obvious anger and worry. She swallowed and promptly froze on the bed with one hand on the comforters, the other on the unfamiliar black bed.

"Phone batteries' dead. It only lasts eight hours," she replied weakly, cowering into her little corner of the bed. The merest sight of the lady in front of her was enough to scare anyone. Although she was clad in a sweet mauve dress and strappy sandals, she still looked deadly. Now she wondered how Ruka could find someone like her _gorgeous._

The girl scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow in the process. "At this time and generation, you still don't have a cell phone that works for five days at a time?"

She shook her head too eagerly and almost immediately regretted it, because she felt as if her head cracked half-open the moment she swung it to one side. She held her head for the second time that morning and closed her eyes, mulling over her thoughts to remember what had happened the night before, albeit remembering nothing at all. For a few more minutes she struggled in vain to reminisce about what happened and what had landed her here in the first place.

She then felt a small, heavy object drop on her left side and she raised her had an inch or so (making sure she doesn't do so too fast, or else it would throb again), only to see a small black phone resting somewhere by her feet. She glanced hurriedly from Hotaru's stoic face back to the gadget lying comfortably in her bed and back again, much to the inventor's irritation. As she took a closer look, she noticed it was different from ordinary phones: it was much more elegant, and once she took it in her hands, she noticed that it was a voice-prompted and touch-screened phone, one that she had been yearning for, years and years and years past. She looked up at Hotaru, confused.

"We — specifically I — invented that phone to last for five days non-stop. It will recognize your voice and yours only, so that it won't work for anyone else. The FM can recognize all radio waves from all parts of the world, and the camera is 20 megapixels, along with a 64-gigabyte Micro-SD memory card, courtesy of Imai group of Companies."

Mikan only nodded; she barely understood a word—it was all too technical for her uncivilized brain. "Hello?" she said, pointing to herself with a frail left hand. "Hotaru, I'm an idiot who got her head bumped and who stayed inside a cave for six months. I don't understand a word you say."

Hotaru shrugged and sighed exasperatedly. "It means, dolt, that if you two ever get lost again, I don't want to hear a lame reason like _dead phone batteries._"

She stared at her wide-eyed, unable to move in bed. She would gladly have preferred ten folds a shouting Hotaru that just a simple, stoic, chastising, mother-like young lady with eyes as dark as twilight. Sure, shouting could have been a whole lot better for someone as sensitive as her; with each word Hotaru spoke like she shot daggers of pure ice at her, making her shiver and crumble in fright.

"And the next time you get lost, Sakura," the amethyst-eyed woman continued, her eyes nearly black with suppressed and frozen rage, "don't expect a full-scale rescue mission by ten twenty-year-olds holding nothing but cell phones and riding in a Grandia. Expect gunshots, boxing gloves, mile-long copper wires, and yards of duct tape all strung on, around, and through your miniscule body. Get it?"

She shook her head robotically, solid with the woman's threat. She gulped; that was _definitely_ NOT a good way to go.

"Now," said Hotaru again, and Mikan promptly sat up on the warm black bed, comforters wrapped around her frame. "Get your fat arse off Hyuuga's bed or I'll _make_ you, and I'm telling you, it's not pretty if I do."

And she knew exactly what she meant. When she got up, however, and her mind finally chewed up Imai's words, it hit her like lightning to a metal rod.

—_Hyuuga's bed._

Only God knew what she did after that inside the showers.

Breakfast didn't go quite as good as she wanted it to be, because she was — as usual — late. Not because the mansion was insanely huge—in any case, it was most certainly not. She had been expecting fifty-stories of lavishing and high-end furnishings with price tags exceeding heaven's limit, but on the contrary, the house was…a normal house. Not _normal-_normal, of course; it was just a normal mansion. Three stories, ten bedrooms (three guest rooms), ten baths, an inviting living room, a wide, airy patio, and a very appetizing dining room. She was yet to see her room for the time being, and the rooms were well-organized enough for any newcomer to find her way through, but Sakura Mikan, after all, is an idiot. With a little help from friends, she was able to get to the dining area thankfully unscathed, seeing a bed-headed Sumire, an indifferent Natsume, and Shino; the rest have gone away for work already, and Youichi and Aoi were at school. She sat down primly beside Shino, who greeted her brightly, much to Natsume's dismay, and ate in silence, only to be broken by Hyuuga. Natsume, that is.

"Good morning, sleep monster," he drawled. Mikan groaned.

"For just one second, Natsume, can't you leave me alone?" Her head was still weary and she had no idea of what had happened the night before and her legs hurt like crazy. She was like a jelly at the moment—weak, stony-faced, weak-kneed. Natsume only squinted at her and returned to his food, chewing slowly.

"Mikan-chan?"

She and Natsume both whipped around their heads and saw that Shino was looking straight at Mikan, thoughtful, as if weighing his words carefully. After a few moments, Sumire left them with a big yawn and Shino finally spoke.

"Would you…like to go out with me today?"

Natsume practically gagged on his food, and as Mikan patted his back, much to his general surprise (she usually spends all her energy taunting him and gagging him even more), she answered Shino back with a big grin and a questioning look.

"Huh? As in like a _date_, Shino-kun?"

Shino looked awkward. "Well, yes, Mi-chan. If that's how you see it."

He knew what was going to happen next.

"Oh, yes, I'd love to, Shino-kun!"

Oh, if only he could drop dead.

* * *

"Natsume-sama?" Aki asked, looking weirdly at her master, unable to comprehend why on earth he was wearing what looked like black pants, a black hoodie sweater, a black baseball cap, and sunglasses. It was _summer_ outside, and such a get-up—most especially from her _master_—would be (there was no other world for it) weird. Add to that was the obvious fact that he was spying on Shino-sama and Mikan-chan. It was off-character for someone as isolated and conserved and reserved as her Master Natsume.

Scratch that, it was _impossible_. So that left her two options: one, her master has gone insane, and two, her master is not her master, but a mere impostor. The first was possible—but barely—and the second was just not nonexistent in any dimension or in any world. Nobody could imitate the perfection of her master, with whom she long nourished a soft spot.

But then, option three came to her mind. He was in love. And as she gazed at the stern expression of her master's face as he watched Shino and Mikan hold hands toward the gardens to his car, which Shino borrowed for the time being, she knew this was the real reason.

"Natsume-sama, what are you doing?" she asked again, this time more knowingly. She just stared at him; his red eyes alight with jealousy, his face arranged in an impassive yet ironically obvious expression, and his fists clenched at his sides as he kept his focus on the two, now slapping each other playfully. She stifled a giggle and struggled hard against herself to remain formal.

"Shh!" Natsume hissed at her. Aki's green eyes widened. Her master was never this harsh—but then again, people who are jealous never seem to get the idea of kindness at times, so she understood. She just left her master to himself and giggled all the way back to the kitchens.

* * *

"Shino-kun, you're so funny!" he heard Mikan say as he watched them walk towards his white Ford Fusion. Secretly he hoped it would run out of gas, just like the previous night, but he knew the wish would be useless; he just filled it up that very morning. Silently and lithely, he followed them.

He was growing jealous, too, as he did so, seeing the man Shino was that he knew he could never be even if he tried. Shino was just nice and very gentle with her, and he can't simply imagine himself being as effeminate as his cousin. He handled her with care literally, as if she was this precious porcelain doll that was much too fragile (which, judging by the color of her skin, she must be, if she would only stay stationery for long). It was obvious Shino loved her.

He followed them around inside his black Mercedes—his second car—and drove a few feet behind them, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. He lay low, keeping to himself and not minding the countless stares brought to him because of his get up. He needed to follow these two.

They kept jumping locations, which truly irritated him: One moment they were at the zoo, the next at the park, and then the games center of the mall, and then to the toy store.

He couldn't help but think this was a five-year-old's field trip with her daddy rather than a _date_. He almost smirked at the thought as he drove through the highway when he saw them stop. He was smirking greatly, but a few minutes later, he stopped. He stopped immediately.

It was before they left the town circus at dusk when he saw something that he shouldn't have seen. It was the one thing he dreaded the most, he disliked the most…the one thing he never wanted to see in his entire existence.

He felt the blood rise to his head and the heat in his body bloom to a fatal height. His blood pounded loudly in his ears and his fists clenched at the sight while his eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated with a mixed chaos of emotions…anger, betrayal, fear. He could not make himself believe it. He did not _want_ to believe it.

He stepped behind her and Shino, close enough for them to recognize him, but they couldn't, because they were so deeply engrossed. They knew nothing about the world at all, and neither did they care.

He was angry beyond all recognition, because Shino did the one thing only _he_ can do to her.

And that was to kiss her.

* * *

_Edited. (:  
~Ash. _


	9. The Devil's Mother

He shook his head, trying to clear himself of the image, because it was _wrong_. He was sick—sick enough to actually start hallucinating, and just like that afternoon, his breathing was all heavy and uncontrollable again, although this one might be more on the idea of what he thought he saw rather than his illness. He felt for his forehead and trickles of cold sweat came in contact with his fingers; once again, he swore. He closed his eyes for a moment, but not before taking one last glance at the kissing couple in front of him, two brown-haired individuals who were definitely _not_ Shino and Mikan. He cursed under his breath and just thought of how stupid it was to be thinking of something like that at a time like this. How he could have imagined it, he could not say.

He swept one last glance around the carnival in search of her brown head and spotted it somewhere near the dais he had vacated earlier, of course with Shino. He took one last glance and prayed for a few seconds before giving it up as a bad job. He felt a fever coming up, and usually, fever with hallucinations never really boded well.

He arrived half-past seven and locked himself up inside his room, refusing the meal that was offered. His head felt like it was spinning, and every move he made felt like he was going to snap in half or something like that anyway while he thought of Mikan and Shino, doing God-knows-what, wondering if they were still in that blasted carnival. He wanted to tell himself that it was a lame date anyway, but every time he did so, it only scarred him even more, because his mind keeps on retorting. _No matter how corny or lame it was_, his subconscious reasoned out, _at least Shino could take Mikan out on a decent date._

He groaned in irritated defeat, because _that_ was truly the case, actually. And whether he admitted it or not, things will never be the same between the two of them ever again, especially the scenario that broke them both…like crumpled paper that can never be returned to its original smooth form.

At nine o'clock his head began throbbing rather painfully and he fell asleep, and in his dreams, he was flashing back through the memories of him and her at the academy; one particular memory struck him though. It was the scene in the snow, when he played a song that was written especially for her—

—And unconsciously, the tears began flowing in his sleep.

* * *

It was one-thirty in the morning when they arrived. She was ecstatic; it was the first time in years that she's had a date _that_ fun, and it was unbelievable that she got a big brown bear that Shino had scored for her at one of the games back at the carnival.

It was also one-thirty when he found himself waking up after having heard the sound of a car sweeping down the drive. He stood up, feeling a lot better with his head no longer throbbing, and grabbed a Post-It note from beside him and scribbled hurriedly before rushing out the room and jumping off the balcony to the dark grounds of their lawn.

She climbed up the marble staircase of the mansion up to her room, feeling all drowsy and groggy, but the lingering feeling of euphoria clung to her veins like grime, difficult to remove and hard to clean. Silently she walked past Natsume's room and past Shino's door as well (Shino was still outside fixing the Fusion), trying her best not to wake anybody up. Inside, the bubble of happiness she felt grew to an ominous size, making it impossible for someone like Mikan Sakura to hold it in for long; she had to get to her room and _scream_.

She neared the double doors at the end of the hallway. At the end was her room, and she was dying to get inside and just be able to _sleep _and_ scream._ It was awful, really, that she wouldn't have enough chance to stay up until five in the morning thinking of what she and Shino did that afternoon. It would have been fun, at least for her alone. It was one of the best…it was great hanging out with a friend and just being herself, free from Natsume and his intent gaze…free from everything that gave her the creeps, good or not.

She was yawning when she approached her doors, one hand stretched out in front of her to push it and gain access to her room. She was ready to plop down the bed and take a rest; tomorrow is another day, she'll have time to think of the day with Shino. A date between friends, that's what she called it in the back of her mind.

In a flash of light she saw something posted on her bedroom door. She neared it and saw an elegant yet somehow inexplicably messy handwriting that contained a few words:

"_Sakura Tree. As soon as you arrive. –N."_

The words baffled her. Her eyes, already closing, were forced wide open by her to make sure she was not just hallucinating and that she was reading something _real_ and actually written by a living person. She had to make sure this wasn't just a figment of her sleepy imagination.

After a few minutes she finally seemed to decide that it was real, and with surprising speed she ran into her room and looked out towards the balcony, wondering where the sakura tree was.

She spotted it; it was somewhere near the flowing river by the boundaries of the mansion, but from the distance she could not see anyone near it. She wondered vaguely if it was some sort of joke, but then shrugged the thought off; knowing Natsume, he'd probably have her head in the morning if she didn't show up.

Clinging to her principle of just showing up, she picked a jacket from her closet and silently crept out of the house towards the sakura tree.

Out the front doors, she saw the entire lawn of the Hyuuga mansion in a different light, literal or not. The entire lawn was bathed in silvery moonlight and every single flower in sight seemed to flourish because of the rays of light that was not the sun's but rather the moon's. She walked slowly, pausing here and there to smell the roses, the weird-looking but beautiful flowers, and occasionally, to remove weeds from their midst.

"You'd make a very good gardener. Why not just stay as our gardener and never mind writing at all, polka?"

She gave out a small sigh and smiled. All the sleepiness had gone from her system at the breathtaking sight of the lawn, the garden. "You know, Hyuuga, I think being your gardener isn't that bad after all, especially with this garden. The immense drawback, of course, lies in your presence."

"Huh?" he said, feigning innocence at the sound of his voice. "Which Hyuuga are you talking about?"

She whipped around and saw his flaming ruby eyes sparkle with amusement. She laughed and said, "Who else?"

"Now, now, Sakura," he said playfully. "Not now. I just got sick."

"You what? Why didn't you tell me? You shouldn't have let me leave with Shino this morning! You should have said something! Are you okay?" she said alarmingly, fretting. She reached up to feel his forehead but felt no unusually high temperature. Instead she felt the cold sweat and the sudden electric surge throughout her entire frame upon contact with him. She winced, and if she hadn't done so she would have also seen him do exactly the same.

"Relax, woman. I'm fine now. A little," he said, trying to break the monotony. She scoffed and raised an eyebrow at him. It was odd being this civilized yet crazed-up in a way with him. She was already used to settling everything down with a nice, loud yell. Obviously her maturity rate has increased in the past few days that she's been here, and it was a good thing.

"Oh, how silly of me to forget—sick? You?" she said, sardonically. "I forgot the fact that you never get sick. Because you _are_ the virus, right?"

He smirked.

She walked toward the direction of the sakura tree a few meters ahead, thankful that she did not regard the note as a joke. If she had, it would be world war three in the morning. She sighed. "What do you want?"

He was following behind her, drowned in thoughtful silence, and she stopped in her tracks to allow him to catch up. When he was leveled with her, she turned her head to look at him, her chocolate hair swaying along with her motion and with the light breeze. She was still in her pants, and he was still in his long-sleeved tee and day clothes as well. She looked at him while the moonlight shone from behind them and she saw his black hair glinting and shining. His back, snug and comfortable, was relaxed, not strained in any way, and his hands were stowed away into the pocket of him denim pants. He looked easy, so she thought nothing wrong about this meeting, except maybe the possibility of a shouting match should he provoke her in any way. She smiled as they walked on towards the tree.

He was looking ahead of him, lost in thought. He even wondered to himself why he asked her to come down to the sakura tree for…at the time he thought of it, it seemed to be a good idea. Now, however, it seemed downright pointless, verging on pathetic and desperate. What had he been thinking of?

Sure, there was a lot to talk about. Did she like it with Shino? Was she enjoying her stay at the mansion? Was she still mad at him? Did she prefer Shino over any _other_ guy? Did he even have any chance with her? Instead of asking any of those questions, however, he settled for the safest one, not knowing which to ask first.

"How's your book?"

She looked startled at the subject he brought up. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," he said lazily, keeping a hand in his pocket and raking his hair with the other. "Just asking."

"Well, you never asked without a purpose."

"I never received an answer with sense, so it doesn't make a difference, really."

She puffed out an angry huff of breath while inwardly he smiled. He looked down at her—he was so much taller—and smirked. She saw this and breathed out angrily. His smirk became more pronounced in his arresting features.

"What are you smirking about?" she demanded. He shrugged and turned around, looking ahead towards the looming tree's trunk.

"Hey!" she said. "Talk to me at least! And answer my question!"

Without so much as a preliminary warning, it escaped his lips. "Do you like it here?"

It was meant to be a serious question…a question that would mean a lot to him. She, however, took it as one of his weird Q&A sessions and bit out her answer roughly. "No."

His eyes showed weakness for a moment but instantly recovered his poise. "Why?"

"Because you're here. Duh, Einstein, I can't stand being around you had you not dragged me to your world."

Silence, and then he suddenly laughed airily—true, sincere, genuine, call it what you want, but Natsume Hyuuga was laughing greatly. Somehow the sound of his laughter had mingled relief hidden within it; he had really thought she hated it here.

She looked puzzled by this out-of-character reaction and looked at him as if he was crazy. "Are you drunk?" she asked stupidly, still gawking at him while they sauntered toward the tree. He laughed all the more.

They reached the tree in due time and he sat down, one leg bent, the other stretched. She did the same opposite him so that she couldn't see his face, because it was hard. Every time she did so, she felt like strangling him.

He was stationary as well; he was thinking of a good topic to start a good conversation with her, and that was when he saw a flash of brightest green and the thought hit him suddenly. He remembered the original purpose of his plans to talk to her any day soon.

The memory of the conversation with his father three days before flashed back through his mind and he let out a puff of breath.

"I have to tell you something," he began slowly, cautiously. It was a sensitive subject to both of them, and although he knew saying it would mean a lot of changes _again_ in the relationship between them both, he had to tell her. It was one of the ways he thought he could find atonement for his past mistake.

"Mm," she mumbled, "what is it?"

He breathed out a long, hard sigh.

"Anna's coming," he said heavily.

The moon was momentarily covered by the clouds that drifted by, and a sudden darkness engulfed both of them. He grimaced at the perfect timing: it created a dramatic effect to his words. The only light came from a room at the mansion and the stars twinkling above them.

She perked up, heart beat beginning to race. Did he say…Anna?

"Anna?" she repeated. Anna Hyuuga? Coming? What was this all about now? Her brain reeled…this can _not_ be happening. She must have heard about the news Natsume had let loose, she must have heard about their kiss at the mall…or else why would she come as far as Tokyo, Japan?

"Yes, genius," he replied mockingly. His eyes were closed. "Anna Hyuuga is coming home—soon."

Her heart skipped a beat. "How soon is soon?" she asked. She leaned her head on the trunk of the tree and felt her heart beat double time.

"Closest approximation is in two weeks."

She closed her eyes, feeling a strange but familiar burning in her eyes. A second later she opened them to find tears falling already. "Two weeks," she repeated hollowly. "Did she say why?"

He knew she knew what the reason could be—it was the _only_ possible prompt so far, after all, and so his silence was enough of an answer to her question.

"Just when things were patching up," she whispered. It was paper-thin, but he heard every word, and his heart crumpled stupidly at the sound of her voice that desolate.

In an attempt to steer the conversation out of the sallow waters, he sighed and changed his tone of voice when he asked her about whether or not she was coming the next evening for another one of _Cire's_ concerts. He heard her mumbled her assent as she just nodded weakly.

She got up and plopped down the ground right beside him, and as suddenly as her sleepiness dissolved when she walked out of the mansion front doors, all the tiredness of the day crashed down on her and the overwhelming feeling exhaustion took over her entire body system.

He tentatively reached out to wrap his arms around her, loose enough for her to reject his offer. When he did, however, she drew the arms closer to her, and minutes later she was asleep on Natsume's shoulders, snoring lightly, leaving a sad Natsume to gaze at her in the course of the dawn.

He thought about the conversation with his father.

"Natsume," his father said when he walked into his parents' room three days ago. "I have bad news, son."

His eyebrow rose in query. "What is it, Dad?"

He heard his father sigh deeply before plowing on. "I've received a call from your grandmother."

Natsume groaned. "What now? What more does she want?"

"She's coming home. In no less than two weeks," his father had said to him.

He was stunned into silence, because he knew _exactly _why she was to come home.

That moment he sincerely regretted having declared Mikan as his girlfriend. During the moment it was a perfect revenge, but he had let his mind lose grip, forgetting for a moment about the long-term consequences he might have to face. And now, it had come, the worst possible retribution for his words.

Anna Hyuuga.

* * *

"Hotaru! Ruka-pyon!"

The girl with the amethyst eyes barely budged while beside her a blond-haired angel smiled and waved his hands toward her. She ran towards them, leaving him to walk alone on the cobblestone sidewalk of Tokyo. All around them the birds chirped and the sun shone gallantly. The sky was an exhilarating blue, bluer than Ruka's eyes, and the clouds were drifting by lazily, airily, as a soft breeze rushed past their bodies. It was the perfect Sunday morning.

"Natsume," said Ruka, leaving the two girls in front of them to talk; well, at least one of them anyway. "Why the sudden outing?"

Natsume's eyes were unfocused, which was unusual, even for Ruka who knew him best. He barely showed this kind of discomfort to anyone.

"Natsume?"

He seemed to snap out of his thoughts as Ruka slapped his back none too gently; coughing, he glared at his best friend and his focus returned.

"Anna," was all he replied, but this seemed to have done the trick. Ruka's blue eyes widened in shock and he clapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh. How could I have forgotten?"

"It scares me," he replied; Ruka could see the fear—it was so deeply etched onto his best friend's eyes. "Anna Hyuuga is back and alive. I could just wish she'd die when she comes home. Honestly I'm praying for a plane malfunction. After all, the pilot would be fine, he's well-trained. Then I'll pray for the others inside her plane. I just wish she'd _die_."

Ruka looked alarmingly at Natsume; he never heard him speak this sadistically about anything.

"Don't say that! If not for her—"

"—Mikan and I would still be together," he finished for Ruka gruffly. "I don't give a damn about the inheritance she'll be giving me, no matter how many digits it's bound to be. I still haven't forgotten what she did."

Ruka looked surprised at his sudden upbringing of the topic. It had been four years since he last spoke of the incident involving Anna and her sudden intrusion. It pained him to see Natsume react like that.

"Natsume, don't you think it's time to let it go?" Ruka asked as they walked along the busy streets of Tokyo towards the shopping mall ahead of them owned by Hyuuga Corp.

Natsume shook his head. "Would _you_ ever forget it? What if it happened to you and your fiancée? Could you possibly forgive her?"

Ruka could not answer anything because he knew he'd feel the same way his best friend feels.

Silently, he walked on and changed the topic, but not before Ruka saw the second-long look of sadness in his best friend's face. He sighed and reluctantly followed after him while he said, "Hurry up. We're nearly there."

* * *

The shopping was hell; he was impatient, Ruka was too enthusiastic, Hotaru wasn't helping, and Mikan was just a little too picky for his good books. One minute she was after this dress, the other that dress, and it was all hell just so irritating that he even wondered why he just _had_ to come here with them when so obviously they could have done their shopping without him.

Occasionally, he would comment and shake his head whenever she picked out something that showed more flesh than necessary, and on one occasion he practically grabbed the dress and chucked it away from her into the arms of the poor attendant out of sheer annoyance.

Hours later, he finally got out and about, and at six in the evening, they were back at the mansion, with little over two hours left to go back to Tokyo for their concert.

* * *

"Hurry up, polka," he said from the other side of the door. He'd been waiting for thirty minutes now, and it was tiring having to stand behind two pieces of wood, waiting for an airhead to come out.

"You asked me to come with you, you _wait_, you jerk," she said from the inside. He heard the scuffling of footsteps and the thumps of head against solid wood or metal and he would just fathom how _stupid_ this girl really was. How _ever_ did she become a writer?

Five minutes later, she was still not out of the blasted room.

"Get out _now,_ Sakura, or else," he said through gritted teeth. Concert was in an hour's time and they were running a little too late.

Still she had not come out and his patience was drained empty. Finally, with a deep breath, he slammed the doors open, his suit barely rippling in the process. He found her looking under her bed and with an impatient huff, he snarled, "What the bloody hell are you doing, Sakura?"

Her head rose from underneath the table. "You could've just _knocked_, you idiot, rather than breaking down the goddamn doors," she spiked at him. "It's just seven-thirty and you're acting like a pregnant woman."

He crossed his arms and leaned against the walls of her room. To his right was her cabinet, with the doors wide open and the shoe compartment messed up, as if taken by a storm. As his thoughts pondered on how silly she was acting, he heard the unmistakable thump of skull against wood.

"OW!"

He turned to look at her and saw her emerging for the second time from under her bed, holding a pair of black knee-high boots. It was only then that he realized she was wearing what seemed to be denim pants, a turtleneck blouse, and her hair was tied up in a messy bun. Apparently, it was only then, too, that she realized he was dressed in a tuxedo and that his usually ruffled and windswept hair was combed and poised, and at the same time, they gawked at each other's dresses, shocked, and simultaneously screamed the same thing.

"What are you wearing?"

"What's wrong with it?" she bellowed, "We're just going to your concert, aren't we?"

He scoffed and looked dejectedly at her; there was less than thirty minutes 'til concert time and she was still not ready. "We're going to a concert at a private party of one of my mother's friend's daughter's birthday. Sakura, you have to be in formal attire!"

"Your…daughter's friend's mother?" she stammered, unable to comprehend.

And with no warning, knowing he'll regret it later, he picked out a dress from her cabinet and rummaged within it until he found a nice backless red cocktail dress with black trimmings and a pair of black sandals.

"Put these on," he said, clearly out of breath because of the act. It was obvious that he was out of his element. When she did nothing but just looked at him, he said, "Now!"

"Natsume, are you gay?" were the last words she said before he went around and began pulling her hair down and brushing it.

* * *

"Shut up already," he said as they ran down the marble staircases of the mansion out towards the lawn. Mikan was guffawing with laughter, still unable to comprehend the fact that Natsume Hyuuga knew fashion and can brush a girl's hair to perfection.

"Hah! Tell you what, Natsume," she said, still chortling as he practically dragged her across the grounds towards the gates, "I'll be your gardener and you'll be my dresser!"

"One more word, Sakura," he said under his breath, "and you'll be dead meat."

"Ha! As if you can do that to me—whoa."

She stopped in her tracks, looking at something in front of her disbelievingly. Natsume smirked in triumph and proceeded forward, ignoring her stoned face.

"Hurry up and get on, Sakura," he said as he climbed on top of his black bike. Mikan's eyes were wide, and she swallowed down the bile that was rising in her throat. Motorcycles—that was one thing she hated most. She still remembered the day when she first rode a motorcycle, and it didn't go well, especially as she was rushed to the hospital moments later with her head bleeding.

"Don't be picky; if you were a little earlier we would have gone on car."

Without warning, he got off the motorcycle and scooped her up bridal style, ignoring the cries of disproval coming from her. He dropped her on the seat and as soon as he did, he got up and on the gorgeous black bike as well and rode off.

Minutes later, Mikan Sakura was hugging him tightly, and he was riding through the streets with a smile.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Koko growled when Natsume got off the bike. His hair was back to its original state—ruffled, windswept. "Concert begins in five minutes, man!"

Mikan, on the other hand, was whimpering beside him, her eyes still closed. He just laughed at her and took her hand gently, leading her on. She took taken aback but she followed nonetheless, still shocked and traumatized.

"What happened to Mikan?" Koko asked, looking at the poor brunette. "Man, she looks…stunning."

"Back off, Koko," Natsume said harshly, holding on to Mikan even more. Koko just grinned. "Cool, Natsume. I'm not after her. I just…like her. It feels like she's a long-lost sister or soulmate."

Natsume sent a glare towards Koko's direction and pulled the still-stunned Mikan closer to him and wound an arm around her waist before whispering to her ear, "I'm sorry. I won't do it next time."

She turned robotically toward him and in a spilt-second, began slapping his shoulder.

"YOU"—slap**—**"COMPLETE"—slap—"JERK, NATSUME HYUUGA! Have you"—slap, _punch_,_slap_—"ANY IDEA how FREAKING SCARED I AM OF THOSE BLASTED MOTORCYCLES?"

"Shut up, Sakura! Ow!" He bit back. She kept on it and after a few minutes he was forced to slam a hand on her mouth to shut her up; people were already looking at them, and they were at the famous Café Dijon. "Just sit the hell down and listen!"

She did as she was told, and five minutes later, she was still fuming as she looked at the stage towards the five boys now crowding around their instruments. She was seated at table eight alone, yet strangely enough, all around her were empty seats.

"Mikan!"

She whipped around and saw Anna and Nonoko, along with Hotaru. "You guys! You're here!" she said excitedly. They were strolling along and she finally realized why there were empty seats around her. Before they could reply, however, the band began playing, and she heard the deep voice of Natsume Hyuuga.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. We are Cire"—loud applause and massive giggling from the girls in the corner—"and we are yours tonight. For our first song, it's entitled 'You'. This song was written and dedicated to you. I hope you're not idiotic enough not to know. If everyone will notice," he said while smiling a bit, "This song was one of the firsts that we have written. So…here it goes."

And for a single moment, he felt like no one else around the room existed but him and _her_. He began strumming, and with no more than a stern, fixed, unwavering gaze at her brown orbs, he sang, so sincerely, that she felt it soar straight past her heart, and the memories of what had happened before so reluctantly entered her mind. She knew that song…she knew it from the depths of her heart. She gasped and sighed and breathed in deeply—she was near hyperventilation and yet so caught in his gaze, while Ruka's eyes roved around the expressions of his best friend. Only the three of them knew what this song was about.

She was thinking something along the lines of _Why do you have to keep reminding me?_

_There's always something in the way  
There's always something getting through  
But it's not me  
it's you  
it's you_

_Sometimes ignorance rings true  
But hope is not in what I know  
It's not in me  
It's in you  
Its in you_

_It's all I know  
it's all I know  
it's all I know_

_I find peace when I'm confused  
and I find hope when I'm let down  
Not in me, me  
in you  
It's in you_

_I hope to lose myself for good  
I hope to find it in the end  
But not in me, me  
In you  
In you_

_Its all I know  
Its all I know  
Its all I know_

_In you  
In you  
Its in you  
In you_

_There's always something in the way  
There's always something getting through  
But its not me, me  
Its you  
Its you  
Its you  
Its you  
Its you (Its all I know)  
Its you  
Its you (Its all I know)  
Its you  
Its you (Its all I know)  
Its you  
Its you_

The song finished with a general round of applause, but Mikan's hand was too busy holding herself together to have to pay any mind for clapping. Unbeknownst to Anna and the others, memories of a harsh yesterday made its way to her mind.

"_Natsume!"_

_He stopped in his tracks, his black hair swaying gently to the cold winter breeze. His guitar was slung casually behind his back and his blue tee shirt was slightly crumpled because of the pressed instrument against it._

"_What?" he asked, not bothering to look around; in any day or in any way, he'd know it was her. Damn right, her voice was the only one he'd recognize in a field of spectators and fans. He was almost eighteen then, one more year before graduation, and yet the band—already known as Cire—was quite famous already, courtesy of the Gakuen Alice's high connections._

_She finally caught up with him and in no mind he took hold of her hands while their feet crunched against the ankle-deep snow. She flashed him another of her brilliant smiles and they walked slower this time._

"_What did you do?" she asked, her long brunette hair whipping him in the face when she turned to face him while a violent wind blew. "With the band, I mean."_

"_Nothing," he shrugged, "we just recorded a new song."_

"_Oh!" Her brown eyes sparkled and she looked hungrily at him and his guitar. He looked at her long enough before sighing and settling down under a sakura tree near the dormitories of their high school. She yelped with glee and followed suit, plopping down in front of him and his red guitar._

"_What song?"_

"_You."_

"_No, Natsume," she said, shaking her head drolly. "I meant what's the title of the song?"_

"_You," he replied again shortly, finding it funny that _she_ thought _he_ was being dumb._

"_No!" she cried again, bouncing in her sitting position, "the _title_, Natsume, tie-tull."_

"_How stupid could you get?" he asked, his eyes so full of the unusual Natsume glint of happiness."Mikan, the title of the song is 'You', not _you_."_

_She looked surprised at the statement and raised her gloved hand to clap her forehead. "Oh, stupid!"_

_Before she could hit herself, however, his big hands held it back while he growled. "Don't do that. You'll lose even more brain cells than you already have."_

_Although she was slightly irritated, she smiled, knowing it was just one of the little ways he showed his love. "Now, get on playing the song!"_

_He smiled, this time a little wider and began playing the song. All the while he did so, Mikan's eyes were glazed, teary . . . he felt like laughing at her reaction, and so the entire song was ruined because he kept snorting in between verses._

_When he was done singing it, he reached out both his hands and held her face softly. She raised her eyes, this time all tears had gone, and they were nearly closing with so much happiness._

_Or maybe giggling._

"_What are you giggling about?" he asked, still holding her face. She kept on giggling until her eyes were no more than slits and her tongue was lolling out. He looked at her, puzzled, and she reached out her left hand and touched the tip of his nose._

"_You look like Rudolph," she said, her voice a high-pitched sound. He followed her fingers and ended up cross-eyed and she fell down on her back, laughing loudly._

_He smiled and fell down on top of her as well, looking at her straight in the eyes. She stopped laughing and commenced with a smile instead, and he just looked and looked at her._

_She opened her mouth to speak. "Natsume?"_

"_Mm?" he replied. They just stayed in that position, neither of them uncomfortable. In fact, for him it was cloud nine, utmost happiness._

"_I love—"_

_Before she could end the statement, however, he kissed her long and gently while he twined his fingers with her and pulled her upwards into a sitting position. When he let go of her, he said, "I know you do."_

_She wrapped her long, slender arms around his neck and smiled, the smile meant for him and only him._

"_There's always something in the way…there's always something getting through, and it's not me. It's you."

* * *

_

He saw the distraction in her eyes the moment he sat back down beside her after they had finished their performance. He saw how he still affected her, and thinking it through he realized that he was really doing everything he could to prove to himself that she still loved him.

She was in a trance, barely able to notice anything at all.

"Mikan?" Anna said, nudging the brunette. "Mikan?"

"Oh, yes?" she asked. "What is it, Anna?"

"We're leaving baka," supplied Hotaru. Indeed, they were all standing up already, while she remained frozen to her seat.

The rest of the evening that was spent in a huffy silence ended, and yet she still left distractedly.

* * *

They stopped in front of the gates of the Hyuuga Mansion because Natsume was squinting evilly at a parked black Mercedes. His mind suddenly fired up, and fear occupied his existence for the time being. She can't be home yet…she was supposed to come in two weeks' time.

"Natsume?" Mikan asked, finally out of her reverie. She had fallen asleep on the ride back; the others went to Tokyo on a three-hour drive just because they wanted a night out. He, naturally, refused.

"You finally woke up," he said in the same cold voice. "Good morning."

"Huh?" she asked. "I wasn't asleep."

He just sighed and rode to the front doors, still fearful. He helped her out of the motorcycle and together they climbed up the stairs, him leading the way while he held Mikan, who was wobbling dangerously because of her stiletto shoes. He opened the front doors first and looked back, not bothering to spare a glance at the living room, at Mikan.

"Hem, hem."

He froze, his back grew rigid and his posture became tensed. His red eyes were alarmed, and he turned around, only to face one thing he dreaded most.

Mikan finally caught up with him and as she walked towards him, she noticed the thick tension around the air. It was a tension that she would know anywhere, but she didn't want to be sure. She chanced a glance at Natsume and saw his eyes first—fear. That was the first emotion she saw.

She looked straight ahead of her as well, fearful as well as to what had brought about his sudden change of aura, because the air around her felt awfully disturbed, and it was only one person who could cause this kind of strain, the kind that even air feared its presence.

And when she looked around, she met those familiar green eyes, and like Natsume, she swallowed hard.

_The devil's mother is here._

"Good evening, you two," he wispy voice said, staring past them like hawk's eye.

There was no more doubt, only fear of the great Anna Hyuuga.

* * *

_Edited. (:  
~Ash. _


	10. Interlude

"Wait, what do you mean you're quitting the band?" Koko asked Natsume, eyes widening at the sudden news the man had just proclaimed to the room at large, which were made up of the entire Cire, including Yuu.

A second ago Hyuuga Natsume had walked in and announced to them that he was, for the moment, leaving Cire for a few "personal" matters, but his usual uncaring demeanor didn't actually fool anybody, and that was a first. In all honesty, however, if Ruka had known (and he usually knows better than most), this was about Mikan and Hyuuga Anna, and so with a breeze he followed after Natsume after the latter ignored Koko's question and swished behind to close the door behind him. Before he actually left, however, Natsume said quietly, "I'll give you guys the answers once I find them myself. For the meantime, let Ruka be your vocals and Koko, you can do back-up."

When both blonde and raven left, Koko clapped a hand to his forehead and whimpered. "The fans'll be really, _really_ disappointed. Truth be told it was only Natsume who really pushed us up and made us look good because he looked good himself!"

Kitsuneme, who had been lazily staring up at the ceiling, suddenly flicked a languid stare at Koko. "That's not true," he said in defense. "The girls will have Natsume back. For the meantime we have to leave him alone. Poor guy looks like he really needs the break, what with Anna Hyuuga and Mikan."

Point proven, the guys started working again when suddenly, Koko's phone rang.

* * *

"Koko?" Mikan asked through the phone. "Could you come here for a moment, please? I have to give you something…"

She was sitting at the foot of the stairs, holding three pieces of paper and a guitar in at hand, speaking to the boy through loudspeaker while rifling through the pages and seemingly correcting a few lines every now and then.

She heard Koko reply and rolled her eyes at what he said.

"_Now, Mikan?"_

"Koko, do you really think I'd call and tell you to come here and then ask you to come here two hours later?"

"_Huh?_"

And an exasperated sigh escaped her lips. Koko really just didn't get sarcasm. "Yes, please. It can't wait. Besides, a fat lot good this will do to your band, so trust me. Come here."

An exasperated sigh, and then she heard Koko's voice, slightly farther from the mouthpiece, say something that goes along the lines of "_gotta go for a moment, guys_" and then confirm to her by saying "_I'm on my way_."

"Thanks, Ko-kun," she said sweetly, and flipped her phone closed.

She began playing a melody, mulling it all over and over in her head.

She had been thinking of whether or not she was going to do what she soon was about to do, but it can't be helped. She tried to reason out to her own stubborn mind that she had to do it for everyone's sake, except her, but really…there was this small, nagging suspicion that what she was about to do might just cost her her very happiness.

In an effort to relieve herself a little pain, she resolved to give Koko a song she had just written, something she hadn't done in a while. She chose Koko because she knew Koko could at least be a little discreet about it, and she had a feeling Koko was the only one who wouldn't have awkward questions about who the song was written.

She heard a knock on the door and ran towards it, still holding her guitar in hand.

"Well, weren't you fast," she said as she opened the oaken doors. "Koko, you see—"

She looked at the tall frame standing in her doorway and had to swallow a lot of shock before managing to speak.

"Na-Natsume," she managed to croak weakly. "Wh-what are you…doing here?"

The boy let himself in and Mikan, regaining her focus, said "Hey, it's not good manners to enter without—"

"_Don't_—" Natsume cut harshly through her supposed smart talk, knuckles curled and white from the effort of restraint, "—give me that kind of rubbish now."

Surprise and hurt spread through her face and her color turned to ashy gray. "What did I do?" she asked him feebly. She was still standing by the door, holding her guitar in her slightly shaking hand. His red eyes were drawn to her left hand holding the neck of the guitar and a small sad smile played along his lips.

"You're playing. Again."

"Yes, smart ass, I obviously am," she retorted. She still wasn't over what he just said.

Realizing the words that came out of his mouth he recovered himself and asked what he came there to ask her. "Anna. What did Anna say to you?"

Her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed back the bile that suddenly rose up her throat at his words. Mentally aiming a kick at herself she scrambled for words to answer him back and not make the lie and deception too obvious, but he just knew her too much for her own good and it was, this time around, a little too dangerous.

Tears were welling up. She struggled for composure and promptly failed. The only option left was to avoid the question, and so she put up a fake smile and told Natsume what she would have told Koko. In desperation she blurted out a few words that she sincerely regretted afterwards. "I wrote a song. A first in five years!"

He sighed; once she had her mind fixed on the idea of not telling him anything she was usually firm on it, and any attempt would be a little over useless. To waste less time, then, he played along.

"Really?" he said. "Probably not good."

She smiled, this time a little more sincerely, and beckoned him to sit beside her on the couch. She went and took the pieces of paper from the floor at the bottom of the stairs and began playing to him.

He forgot how beautiful her voice was, and hearing it again for the first time in years gave him a slight pang to the heart. To think he thought he'd never hear that angel's voice again.

"Title's unnerving, Polka," he noted. She stopped playing and sent him a glare. He laughed a little. "Okay, fine. I'll listen."

"Just so you know, I've written this for a guy's voice," she said, eyes trailed on the pieces of paper she had set in front of them on the table by the sofa. "I've written this for you guys, actually."

And she began. He listened as her gentle voice filled the place and his heart broke at the end of the first verse. He understood now; it was the story of him and her. It was _their_ tale. And what had happened to her.

He knew the cause of this, of course. It was no one else but him.

She finished playing. An awkward silence ensued between them.

"When did you really write this?" he finally managed to say. His eyes were glazed, reminiscing…

_Damn, _she thought. _He knows. _"A few years ago," she confessed.

With that said he knew, and abruptly he stood up to leave, taking her by surprise, bringing the papers with him.

"We'll take this," he told her, unable to meet her eyes. If he looked he would have seen the bewildered expression she wore.

"Oh, okay then."

She had stood up as well and was looking at him as she had never done before in the few months that they had been together. She was breathing heavily, watching him walk away from her. After the song, something else had crossed her mind as she saw how he casually grew farther and farther away.

For him, time seemed to move abnormally slowly as he made the short journey from sofa to doorway. The song enveloped his entire existence, reeling his mind back to a time when they fell apart.

It all came back so clearly, so suddenly…

With all his strength he forced his mind to stop, commanded it to go back to reality and _face_ it. Just _face_ everything, and the fact that it's all changed. Obediently, as he knew it would, it snapped back with a loud _clack_ into place.

She was doing exactly the same thing, while mentally scolding herself about why she had to sing him that blasted song.

It lasted a lifetime, the way he stood hovering by the doorway.

He stopped, one hand on the knob, and asked her the question that had really bothered him ever since.

"Do you still love me?"

In a rush of colors her eyes grew alive and her face became red and her heart was beating so loudly he could almost hear it himself.

Her body's reactions were enough of an answer, but she still deigned to speak.

Before a word was out of her mouth, however, he suddenly ran towards her and pulled her into a tight embrace, burying his face in her hair and neck. What he didn't expect was for her to reply; she uttered three words that knocked all the air from his system.

"I always have."

* * *

_I'm sorry, okay! I have to let you guys down again. College is taking its toll on me, so forgive me, forgive me, forgive me, PLEASE! __And by the way, this story will be undergoing changes, so after it's done, things will be clearer and more polished. I'm really sorry if I took so long._

_WMS._


	11. Déjà Vu

**AN **This is going to be a short chapter, a cliff hanger, and a notice to you guys that I've been editing the entire storyline, so if you don't mind, I'd like you all to please (if you have time) reread the fic (special mention to Livvy, who first consented to read the changes in the story). The changes are very small, though, but they'll guide you along as we — finally, after so long — reach the starting point of the turn of events. Keep reading, you'll find out why soon enough. Thanks, guys. I love you all.

* * *

A few minutes past midnight and a loud knock ensued throughout the vast room. A sliver of the moon's rays penetrated the fiberglass windows of her majestic room, illuminating half the space and leaving the rest doused in eerie darkness. Resting against the windowsill were her tired, wrinkled hands that crawled with the spidery veins that had grown there for the past seventy years or so. She closed her tired teal eyes and put on the façade of indifference she has grown to have and for which she was known for and answered back. When she spoke her voice was strong, but somehow wispy and faded and weary.

"Enter."

The servant came in bowed low before announcing the news to his Mistress.

"We're ready to leave, Madam."

In a triumphant smirk reminiscent of that of her grandson's, she nodded and said, "Good. About time we all learn to find our places in the world." She turned to the servant and in one look the young man understood.

With another low bow he exited the double doors from where he came from.

And yet again she was left in the silence of her office, left alone to contemplate the various possibilities that lay ahead of her after this decision she made, for the second time already.

For the second time in her lifetime she had to get rid of a scum to the Hyuuga household—but this time she's making sure it's for good.

* * *

"Natsume, you can't be serious about quitting, are you?"

"It's a _hiatus_, Koko," he said irritably for the thirteenth time that day. Everybody had been bugging him about his sudden departure from the band, but it wasn't exactly known to the world just yet; the band were having bets about how long it would take the press to figure out he's left the group for the meantime.

"But _why_?" Koko pressed, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Of all the timings to place your little dainty drama, Natsume, why _now? _Why quit two weeks before the release of the second album!_"_

"Koko, shut up. I'm not _leaving_ the band, I'll just be inactive. So stop your womanish drama."

"I won't shut up until you tell me why!" Natsume sniggered a bit at the sound of hysteria in Koko's voice. He sounded a lot like Mikan when _she_ was peeved, but more so Koko sounded like a hormonal woman. "Come on, Natsume, at least tell us why! You owe us some explanation, man."

"I don't _owe_ you anything, Yome," he stubbornly refused. Truth was his reason wasn't exactly complicated. It was too easy to explain, actually, but for the love of tormenting the guys he let it go for the meantime just to get them going. He needed some distraction from the current reality he was faced with.

"Natsume!"

"Oh, give it a _rest_, Koko," Ruka said in a most unusually irate tone. "If Natsume doesn't want to tell, you know better than to force him. You _know_ he won't budge."

Natsume stopped reading his manga and looked up at his best friend. Koko looked ultimately surprised.

"What's happened to _you_?" Koko asked pointedly, one eyebrow raised comically high. "What's wrong with the oh-co-calm-and-cool Romeo that you happen to be known for?"

Ruka massaged the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and sighing deeply like it's one of the most terrible problems of the world. "Wedding. It's more complicated than I thought."

"Plans going awry?" Natsume asked while flipping idly the covers of his manga, returning to his former position.

"Worse," the blonde replied. "She wants me to sing the damn wedding vows."

The other two in the room perked their eyebrows. "Well what's wrong with that?" Koko asked. "You're second vocals, you'd be fine singing the vows."

Natsume, however, knew better. He just fixed his red eyes at the slowly blushing Ruka.

A moment later he figured it out.

"_Oho,_ _that_ wedding vow," Natsume snickered in the most _Natsume_-ish way possible. Letting slip a small, knowing smirk, he taunted the tomato-red Ruka further more, leaving Koko to wonder what it was all about. "You are _not_ serious about that," he said. "She _can't_ possibly want _that_ in your wedding."

Raising painfully ashamed blue eyes, Ruka nodded and flung his hands up in the air in defeat. "She does! And she won't take no for an answer and the wedding's in four months and I have no idea how to sing the damn song. I mean, seriously, it was supposed to be a _joke,_ for crying out loud! It's our wedding and she wants me to embarrass myself in front of all the family and friends that we have! How is that even _remotely_ fair? All my life she's been there blackmailing me and when everything starts slowing down—just when I thought it all stops—she does it again!"

* * *

"Ma'am, we're ready for departure."

She smiled a wan smile at the servant right behind her. "Thank you," she quietly said as the man picked up her luggage and went straight into the pathway that led to the gate of the airplane. Slowly, she entered them herself and with one final drawn breath, she put a smile on her face and left.

Twenty minutes later she was riding through the air, feeling a distinct aura of déjà vu at the current circumstances she was in.

* * *

For the past hour Natsume had been in the corner sofa arranging the notes for the song Mikan had given him for Cire. Koko was playing _Need for Speed _on PSPin the far end of the room while Yuu, Tsubasa, and Mochu were in the kitchen eating and planning for the details of the press release of the album. Right beside Natsume was Ruka, who was in the middle of an act of pulling his hair by the roots when the door opened and in came a sallow-looking Shino.

He had an awfully subtle look of triumph in his face. Natsume couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something like smugness appeared to emanate from his cousin's frame as well.

Shino entered the door and called out. "Yome, Nogi," he said, nodding a little to acknowledge the other two before turning to his cousin and beckoning him out. "We—" he gestured to him and Natsume "—need to talk."

Grudgingly Natsume threw the manga to the sofa and followed after. "I'll be fine, whatever the hell this is about," he answered to Ruka's unspoken question. His best friend only nodded.

When they were out the door, Shino cut through all preamble and went straight to the point. "She wants to see you and talk to you to renew her offers."

"I don't _want_ to," he bit back sharply and quickly. "I thought I'd already made it a point to her that I'm not backing off this time around? You leave now. Go away and don't show your face to me unless you're out to bring the gospel."

He turned his back, but not before he heard his cousin venomously bite back.

"I was only _ordered_ here," Shino countered, "it's not it's my fault she drives your life a living hell, Natsume. You can't keep treating me like scum just because I follow her orders."

"I can," Natsume argued, "because you made your choice and you chose to be her lapdog. I have every right."

He practically _heard_ him smirk at what he said. "You're doing this because you want me to stay away from Mikan. You hate me because I can take her away from you in no time, hands down, with the least of efforts."

Crimson eyes flared with unseen anger. Breathing deeply he turned right back around and faced his cousin's rigid face; he was flummoxed by his cousin's snappy retort, because he knew they were true, but he let his pride down for a minute and decided to keep the cat away from the dog. Taking one step forward he made to threaten Shino with another set of trash talk but he cut him off.

What happened next was something he had never thought possible; it was unforeseen and uncalled for. Racing through the streets of Tokyo he cursed impatiently under his breath, driving himself to the limits to reach his destination in time. He _had_ to reach it; it was enough that it happened once, he can't bear it to happen again.

Not this time.

It was the unthinkable—everything's happening all over again. It was a déjà vu, the kind he never wanted to relive.

His heart tore into a trillion little shards of glass. _When will we finally be okay?_

That afternoon Shino Kazikawa dealt him the final fatal blow.

"She's gone, Natsume. And this time she's never coming back, and it's all _your_ fault. Again."

* * *

_Review? (:  
~Ash. _


	12. Another

**ASHYNote **I've decided to put off editing until I've finished the story. That way, everyone's happy and I get more opportunities to fix the future mistakes I might make. Sorry for the false alarm. And this will be a short-short chapter, so... :D

* * *

_"Natsume, I am ordering you to get off the road now. Or else."_

He was driving along the roads of Tokyo furiously, tears streaming down his face. On the phone he held with a shaking hand was Hotaru, who in her usual cool demeanor was trying to calm the raging man down. He called her asking for details about the flight details for Mikan; she provided nothing but a constant rant about getting him to stop the chase.

It was something he, at the moment, simply did not think about. He could not see himself stopping his pursuit of the girl.

Hotaru's voice rang sternly from the phone in loudspeaker. _"Hyuuga."_

"What do you want me to do, Imai?" he responded thickly; even his voice wasn't coming out right.

"_I want you to stop trying to kill yourself in the roads of Tokyo. I want you to go back to the Manor. Now. We'll hatch up a plan. We'll do something about this, but we'll plan eveyrthing out. Orderly. Not by you rushing like a demon with no death, towards an airport that's more or less a miles away, after an airplane that's about to take off in less than three minutes. Now if you don't quit this renegade action of yours I will ask Ruka to call his father and tell him to send a police unit after you._"

"That doesn't scare me."

"_Not if I tell them it's you. And ask the media to publish it all over the papers. That way the Hyuuga empire falls down along with you and your perfect image._"

He merely scoffed. "That would serve Anna right. I might just do it, Imai."

"_You're not in the right head. The Natsume I know would know better than to kill the empire his parents had so arduously built up. Now, stop the damn car."_

Silence.

_"Pull over."_

No reply. The speedometer was inching towards one hundred seventy.

"_Natsume. Pull _over_. Now._"

—One hundred eighty—

"_Dammit, Hyuuga. Stop._"

—One hundred ninety—

—Two hundred.

He was still thundering across the streets towards the airport. He had put Imai on the phone to keep him sane, but apparently that part of the plan wasn't working well; his minds was in massive disarray.

Hotaru's cold voice emanated from his phone's speaker. Her tone was that of resolute finality, the one that shows when she knows she's already about to get what she wants; that kind of tone penetrated even through his hazed mind.

_"Hyuuga, you are going to stop chasing after her. She's gone."_

As if on cue he heard the sound of a plane at take-off. For a moment he looked shocked, the next his emotions were spinning inside him like a tornado.

With a loud screech he pulled over at the curbside of a street a few blocks away from the airport. His red eyes stared blankly into the sky, where a small speck was growing tinier by the second.

He didn't know how he knew it was her plane, but he did.

Quite abruptly his breathing changed, from labored and heavy to slow—

—And desperately painful.

He began gasping, feeling like his lungs were about to explode from the pressure he put in them while he drove like a maniac through the streets. It was a few moments before he realized his eyes were just itching to release tears and his throat was hurting and swelling with the desire to sob and cry out loud.

"_Natsume?_" said Hotaru's voice from the phone. "_Turn around now and come back here at the Manor. We'll talk things over. I promise you we'll work something out. You're not the only one who wants her back._"

He nodded, but made no reply nonetheless. He knew she didn't need any reply; he knew she was just as shaken about her sudden departure as he was.

He hung up the phone and let loose the overwhelming feelings he'd been holding back during his demented driving towards a failed destination.

His sobs were broken and heavy and he was gasping terribly for air that he couldn't manage to keep himself steady. His eyes were blurry from all the tears they were spilling. His chest felt like it was throbbing right past the rib cage and the skin. His strength was slowly being sipped off him and his head was fit enough to crack with the pain the shot through his temple like a bullet. His whole body was shaking against the back of the driver's seat, his phone lay abandoned by his feet, which were now removed from the gas pedal.

In fury he slammed his fists on the innocent steering wheel; he then rested his forehead against its ridges, his fists clutching the sides of the seat, his knuckles turning white and his veins aching fit to burst from the thin pale stretch of skin that was being pushed to its limit right then and there.

He'd never cried for anybody. He didn't cry when their dog died, unlike ordinary children. He didn't cry when he lost his favorite blanket. He didn't cry when he was separated from his pacifier when he was three. He didn't cry when his grandfather died.

He shed a few tears for fear of losing little Youichi, but that's just about it.

He'd never cried so much for anybody; but she was an exception. She wasn't just _anybody_.

She was his _life,_ she was all he _knew_, she was everything he had since seventeen. She meant practically _the world_ to him.

And then the truth came crashing down on him like boulders of an avalanche. All at once the realities he now faced came slashing at his ego and pummeled roughly at his already-shrunken heart: he'd let her slip once and he never fought for her back then, and now she's gone. Again. And like before, it was his entire fault. And like before, he wasn't able to do anything about it.

He felt useless, he felt like giving up everything just to go back to four years ago when he chose Anna Hyuuga's decision over her. He felt like going back four years to chase after her as she left on a plane bound for Australia. He felt like going back four years to _protect_ her from the Devil's claws, to prevent the separation from ever happening.

Worse was he felt like giving up. Because even if he _did_ fight for her this time, would it really make a difference? It wouldn't make her come back to him, would it? It doesn't make sense, it doesn't help at all.

_It makes all the difference, though, because that way you proved something more to her._

And there goes his conscience again, battering him with hopeful thoughts as he drowned himself in misery. It was probably one of her influences to him...he really couldn't tell which is which given his current predicament.

Shaking uncontrollably he breathed for air and cried his heart out until his calm returns to him— and he knew it would a long time before it does. At the moment his whole world was in shambles, and he needed time to pick up the shattered fragments that Shino and _Anna_ had so deliberately and _purposefully_ destroyed.

All he had in mind was the unbearable thought of her leaving him for the second time around.

* * *

With his mind slowly clearing up, he weighed his chances. Anna Hyuuga wasn't an easy opponent, but during the minutes he'd spent immobile, eyes closed and thinking, he made up his resolve. This time he was fighting for her, and he was fighting to win. Even if it meant excommunication from his family, even if it meant being disinherited.

It was an hour later before he recovered himself when by the small patch of clear sight that he had he saw his phone flashing, signaling an unread message.

He read it, and after he did his red eyes flashed dangerously. His head was suddenly free from any fog whatsoever and his purpose was painfully obvious. For the moment he threw away thoughts of her to a corner of his mind; he had more urgent and pressing matters.

He reversed quickly, his tires protesting as they screeched in contact with the cement. He was back to driving madly through the lanes of Tokyo. Embedded in his mind were the few words Hotaru had sent him through a text message.

"AH has arrived. Anna's at it again."

* * *

_Edited - and apparently I unfortunately spoiled it. Again, I uploaded the wrong chapter. I don't really get what's wrong with me, but there you go._  
_~Ash._ (:

Reviewssss—? :D


	13. Pining Amiss

"Mikan, are you sure you're okay?"

She smiled forcibly at her pink-haired companion. "Yes, Misaki-sempai."

"Okay," Misaki replied. "It can get a little cold her in Paris, so I suggest you bundle up. Tsubasa and I are going out for his haircut_—you know_ his hair gets too rough and messy_—_and I have to watch out for it because he might _not_ get his haircut at all. Kaname will bring the kids home, so please be patient with my rascals, won't you Mikan? And help yourself to any food. I think there's something wrong with you, you haven't been eating like that pig I know you to be."

"You still talk a lot," she mused, smiling a little more genuinely at her sempai. She seemed more like a sister to her then, and even more so now. "I see nothing's changed."

"Oh, Mikan, stop it with the drama, will you?" Her sempai threw a couple of notes at her. "Help yourself. We have to go. I love you, honey, and take care of yourself while we're gone. God knows you're too clumsy for your own good."

"Bye, Onee-chan," she said to her as she heard her run down the stairs.

She sighed once she heard the car sweeping off the garage. She looked at the window and saw their red car before returning to the letter she was writing.

She'd left home for five days and had only been here for two days, but she was already beginning to regret what she did. Snippets of her last conversation with Anna Hyuuga occasionally came back to her like subtle reminders for the reason she was here, but the time off seemed to be guiding her into more dangerous waters, unlike what she had anticipated and hoped for.

For the second time in her life she did something completely out of it. It's pointless, and she knew that well enough, but stubborn as she was she merely shook the thought off.

She put all her focus back to the letter.

She examined her words, knowing it would be another one for her to keep.

_"__Paris, France_  
_January 1, 2010_  
_18:40 pm_

_This might just be another unsent letter…but because I can't handle bearing things like these, I have to let it all out._

_I have to be honest. I have to be extremely honest. So don't be surprised if you find scandal in everything you're bound to read here, if you even end up reading this. It's getting heavier for me. It's a little difficult to keep track of the ways my brain has wandered off to over the past - what the heck? - five days._

_Five days. Five days. They feel like weeks! Darn - you're right. My internal clock is malfunctioning already._

_I can't find words that are fit enough to explain the desperate feeling I have with me now that concern you and seeing your face again. It's a little pathetic, really, and even I can't comprehend the on-going tumultuous roars inside my heart and head that keep screaming your name. I feel awkward about it. I was never one for excessive romantic tendencies or affectionate prose entries that are written for the whole world to see; most of the posts concerning you were all masked in something else, or were written in ways that more than one person would be thought of. I've always been so worried about how others see me when I say I miss you or I love you but this one is a special case - it's the first and the last, actually._

_You're like mold. Or fungi. Or warts. Or rust. Or dead and still-attached nails. Or melted candle wax. Or something. Or sticky stickers. Or grease on non-Teflon pans. You've grown on me, and now you're so hard to take off._

_While you're there sitting on some chair and leaning against some wall thinking lazily to yourself of all the things you could possibly want to waste your time on (and quite possibly laughing or groaning at how stupid I sound if you ever come across the thought of reading this), I'm here, wondering what you might be doing, clutching my chest for fear of my heart breaking out of my skin and running off to you wherever you are now, missing you sorely, on my backside trying to cook up words that would fully explain the heart of the matter to you, whose head always seemed least easy to penetrate._

_Once upon a time it would have been enough that I talked to you for a few minutes and that I get to be with your presence for an hour or two. I used to be well-contented with the sheer thought of seeing you, and that would be enough to make it last for months or weeks at the very least. I never used to be like this._

_I can't be helped. I knew I'd always end up acting like a stealthy fan girl who fears she'll die of not seeing you. Hah, who knows, in a few months I might actually be so self-indulged to the point when I become a monster who is so possessive of something she doesn't even have any recognized claim on. It is so hard to fathom, but I have to say it (even though we both know you already know this): I've grown so dependent on you already._

_Maybe I'm really so flirtatious and a guy-chaser that I couldn't get enough of boys for even just one tiny second. After all, what are years compared to months?_

_While you're having the time of your life doing whatever it is that pleases you, I'm right here thinking all the while. And most of the time the only thing I end up with is staring at pictures, pulling out memories from the depths of my brain. Missing you seems to be driving me insane, whether connotatively or not. I can't help it._

_But I'm pretty sure it's me. A circuit breaker must have exploded in my brain's hard wiring. Or maybe the transistors fell off their hinges. Or the screws - they might be a little too loose. Or maybe something's wrong with my coding: a bug must have been around the whole time, or a virus must have infected my source code and was triggered by your presence. I don't know; you're the smart one, you're the one who seems to know everything, you're the one who knows this kind of stuff._

_Yeah…that's right. You were the one._

_Haha, you still are._

_And while I drown in selfsame misery I also cross the dangerous bridges of fear. The fear of losing, the fear of rejection, the fear of rewinds._

_Although I know it's all my fault I'm going through this. You, on the other hand, might just be sitting there all lordly and handsome and relaxed, as you always are._

_See? I've completely lost it. I am in distress. I need a code blue._

_What the heck am I even saying? I've criss-crossed everything when truly everything only means three words:_

_I miss you._

_Has that been absorbed by your head yet? I'm pretty sure it already has. You might even be annoyed by now, reading all this non-sense about my unwanted desires to see you and just talk to you. I can't help it. Even if I do see you sometimes they simply aren't enough. I want to spend some time with you - it's getting unnerving how I sound so obsessed with you. But just now I don't care._

_God, I miss you._

_Go on, be your usual adamant, laconic self, and don't put any regard for this letter. Set it aside like you usually do with all that I ever try to tell you, be the goof that you are and try changing the subject just to get away from this icky, cheesy post. Chastise me for being so mushy and over-emotive and damn unbearably romantic and whatnot. It doesn't change anything, and even if it does I wouldn't care._

_I _miss _you_."

She stared at the letter and sighed before her phone rang. It was an unknown Paris number.

Flipping her phone open, she answered in French. "_Bonjour. Parlant _Mikan."

"_You owe me a lot."_

She caught her breath. "Hotaru?"

"_Yes, you idiot. It's me. Now get out of Andou's house and come straight to _La Maison du Café_, at Rue de Haxo."_

"You're in _Paris_?" she asked disbelievingly.

She saw Hotaru's eye-roll through the tone of her voice. "_Yes, you dolt. I am. Now come here, or else."_

"But how did you find out where I am?"

"_Don't underestimate my abilities. Don't worry, Hyuuga doesn't know about this. I need to speak to you. Now hang up the phone and get out of the house."_

She did as she was told and hung up the phone then quickly ran out the house, bound for The Coffee House, tears in her eyes threatening to spill.

* * *

The good thing about the band was that it was never the kind of celebrity group who had no time for sneezing. It wasn't the business that controlled them; if anything, they were the ones who controlled the business. They were the ones in charge of their own times, when they wanted to play or not, and when they wanted to do recording.

It was highly unlikely, too, for anyone in the world of how business to be able to do something like it, but there they were.

Cire was revolutionizing the music industry, actually. They first taught recording companies to follow them, not to make them their slaves (although that point was rather questionable, because the Tobita family own it, but that's completely off the point, still). They never accepted songs written for them, and that's not because of the arrogance but more on the fact that they wanted everything to be as personal to them as possible. They also have time for personal music, too. Yuu wasn't exactly the strict kind of manager; he was always responsible, but not to the point that he's becoming so suffocating.

Times like now always made Natsume Hyuuga wish for a slave-driver kind of manager.

And seeing as he doesn't have one, he _becomes_ one.

They were at the Manor high up on Floor 86, recording songs for the third (and probably fourth, with the number of songs they were working on) album for the past nine hours. They were good at recording and most of the time everyone was contented because they only need one take and three at most, but in the given circumstances, Natsume just wouldn't accept anything under _perfect_.

"Natsume," Koko complained; his hands were wrapped in gauze, each holding a drum stick that was slowly falling off his grip. "You've been making us work for the past three hours. Can't you give it a rest?"

"Yeah, Natsume," Kitsy seconded. He was rubbing the tips of his fingers. "It's not easy having to continuously playing the bass guitar."

"Or banging on the drums!" piped in Koko.

"Natsume," Iinchou said dolefully, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We have to stop this. You can't just work non-stop."

"That's wrong," said Ruka. "He can, we can't. Natsume, we'll have to stop. We're not workaholics. At least an hour-long break."

"You only want to call Hotaru," Koko mumbled to Ruka, who was sitting right beside him. Ruka elbowed him, "I _told_ you to keep it quiet," he hissed at Koko. He took a frightened glance at his best friend and sighed in relief; fortunately he was too distracted to hear Koko's comment.

"Natsume?" he asked after his best friend's prolonged silence. "Are we agreed on the one-hour break?"

"No," he answered bluntly, not looking up from the new song he was writing. Ruka sighed, "Should've known."

"Oh, come _on_! It isn't fun when you do things this way!" Koko's shoulders dropped dejectedly. "And is that another song you're writing?"

"Problem?"

The drummer groaned. "So we're gonna record that _again_?"

"Yes. Today."

"Aw, man! Come _on_! You're as bad as Mikan when she's in a fit of workaholic-ism!"

The aura in the room suddenly changed, from dark to pitch-black. Every living soul turned to look blearily at Koko, who seemed to have realized the magnitude of the words he just uttered. Kitsy looked at Natsume and back again, a look of utmost fear in his face. Yuu looked slightly unable to breathe, and Ruka buried his face in his hands.

Natsume's face was point-blank smooth, but his glare (aimed at a poor stuttering Koko) sent chills down everyone's spine.

Even the air around the room seemed to have frozen over at his reaction.

Quickly getting to his feet he ran off the room, but not before they all heard him curse under his breath.

When he was clear of the room, Ruka was stone-cold and enraged.

"You just _had_ to."

He left the room as well, racing to catch up with his best friend.

Koko was more broken that he'd ever been and Yuu looked at him apologetically before following after the two best friends.

Kitsy let out a huge breath and faced poor Koko.

"You're acting like you don't know what he's going through," Kitsy said to him. "Forgive him, Koko. I know you know how he feels about the situation, and forgive me for bringing it up but _you_ know what he's going through, more than any of us combined. So you surely understand why I'm about to come after him and leave you alone, right?"

Koko simply looked dumbfounded. Kisty followed short after, and in less than five minutes the drummer was left to his own devices.

What Kitsuneme said to him just amplified the guilt he felt, plus it triggered a wave of nostalgia that he's buried deep within for two long years.

Green flashed in his mind's eye.

* * *

The silence was unbearable to him. He walked over to the desk Natsume was working on and looked at the new song he was writing and plopped down the seat, pressing his forehead against the cool surface of the table.

The door suddenly popped open, followed by a waft of lavender and jasmine perfume.

"Sumire," acknowledged Koko tonelessly; the scent was imbibed in his mind. "Perfect timing," he whispered to himself, low enough for her not to hear.

Her jade eyes, usually as cold and emotionless as her brother's, suddenly softened at the sight of Koko slumped hopelessly on the desk.

"Another walk-out session?" she asked, her voice sympathetic (or as sympathetic as she could muster). She walked over to the boy and sat on top of the table so that she was facing him.

Koko mumbled in reply a muffled "yes" while Sumire sighed deeply.

"Cause of walk-out?"

Not a single movement. "Her."

Another sigh. "Of course. Had to ask."

He didn't reply. She rolled her green eyes and gruffly groaned a third time. "Hey, say something," she prompted him.

Nothing.

"Look, I know you've got roots in Australia, but that doesn't mean you've got a right to be _down under_ you know. You don't have to live up to the idea of Australia that much."

Another long stretch of silence, then he sat up and buried his face in his hands before staring at the pieces of paper in front of him.

"I'm affected, okay!" Koko suddenly exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat. "I'm _way_ too affected for my own good!"

She looked slightly surprised. "Why?"

"_Because—" _he breathed out "—I can't help but think about them and relate it to us!"

Sumire blinked twice before recovering herself. Her heart skipped a beat.

Koko's pulse was racing, and mentally he kicked himself for having blurted out his thoughts.

"What's this about now?" she asked, looking away from the boy. "Why are you bringing this up again after all this time?"

Silence again, which he broke after long seconds.

"Why did you come to Japan?"

She stopped for a moment to look at him. She couldn't give a straight answer, and something unusually large was stuck in her throat. Her voice seemed to have dissipated with the resigned look on his face, and her heart promptly exploded at the look of pure pain in his topaz eyes.

"I'm asking you." Koko's eyes flicked to her face. "Look, Natsume's going through a lot lately, but just to let you know, I've been through a lot, too, even longer than he was. I've been through a lot since you arrived from Paris months ago."

"Koko—"

"These things, these events, all feel ridiculously familiar to me, d'you know that?" His voice was clear as crystal. Hard as one, too. And his hazel eyes were more like gemstones that have lost their trademark lackluster shine.

"Wait—"

"They make me feel something I haven't felt in quite a while, Sumire, do you _know_ that?"

She felt her anger burst slightly. "Could you _at least_ let me _speak?"_

He stopped, and his eyes went dead. "Tell me something, Sumire," Koko still spoke in the hard voice. "You could have just waited. Why come back now?"

She closed her eyes and swore. Getting off the table she walked across the room to the dashboard controls and put in a CD. A song suddenly started playing.

_And honestly I have been begging for answers  
That you and only you can give to me  
A voice crying loud, I've been crying for days now  
And as I start to run I stop to breathe  
'Coz I was nearly scared to death_

_"I was nearly scared to death_," Sumire's soft voice came in tune with the second voice of the song.

The song played on.

_Of what you left in paragraphs _  
_The words were nearly over us _  
_You stop and turn and grab your bags _

_And I'll be here by the ocean _  
_Just waiting for proof that there's _  
_Sunsets and silhouette dreams _  
_All my sand castles fall _  
_Like the ashes of cigarettes _  
_And every wave drags me to sea _  
_I could stand here for hours _  
_Just to ask God the question _  
_"Is everyone here make-believe?" _  
_With a tear in His voice _  
_He said, "Son, that's the question." _  
_Does this deafening silence mean nothing to no one but me? _

_As hours move to minutes _  
_And minutes take longer to break _  
_I will be desperately awaiting _  
_But my tongue won't fall apart _  
_And we've been sitting here for hours _  
_All alone and in the dark _

_So let me think of how to word it _  
_Is it too soon to say 'perfect'? _  
_If I could find another thirty minutes somewhere _  
_I'm sure everything would find me _  
_All that's left is just to sing _

_And I'll be here by the ocean _  
_Just waiting for proof that there's _  
_Sunsets and silhouette dreams_  
_All my sand castles fall _  
_Like the ashes of cigarettes _  
_And every wave drags me to sea _  
_I could stand here for hours _  
_Just to ask God the question _  
_"Is everyone here make-believe?" _  
_With a tear in His voice _  
_He said, "Son, that's the question." _  
_Does this deafening silence mean nothing t__o no one but me? _

_And if you sing to me sweet until then _  
_I may never sail Virginia again _  
_And as this current moves slow for me _  
_This much you must know _  
_We'll meet again _  
_And I'll, I'll have you know I'm scared to death _

_Tell me once again _  
_That you'll love me to the death _  
_And should I die _  
_You swear that you will come for me _  
_As I fade away, you reach out your arms _  
_(And please don't let me go) _  
_And please don't let me go _  
_(And please don't let me go) _  
_And please don't let me go _

_And I'll be here by the ocean _  
_Just waiting for proof that there's _  
_Sunsets and silhouette dreams _  
_All my sand castles fall _  
_Like the ashes of cigarettes _  
_And every wave drags me to sea _  
_I could stand here for hours _  
_Just to ask God the question _  
_"Is everyone here make-believe?" _  
_With a tear in His voice _  
_He said, "Son, that's the question." _  
_Does this deafening silence mean nothing t__o no one but me?_

"Give me a little credit, Koko," she said after the song was over. "I knew. You were the one who sang the song and recorded it and wrote it."

He couldn't find any other words to say other than, "How?"

"'_Does this defeaning silence mean nothing to no one but me?'_" she quoted. "I remember everything you said to me the night I left for Paris two years ago."

"You said you weren't coming back unless I was over it all," he brusquely. "I'm not over it yet and you know that. Why come back?"

"Because I realized something that Mikan didn't!" she cried out, "I realized that I didn't want to live with this bloody regret hankering after me until I possibly die. I'm wiser now, and two years gave me something back that the times I spent with you took away from me."

He scoffed. "Right, and what could that be?"

"Logic," she answered simply. "Which is why I came home."

"You've been home for _months_. That's not the reason."

"I've been gathering my guts for _months_, too, you dolt," she fired up, "which is why it took me this long to speak to you alone."

He froze, and sighing deeply he stood up and faced her; she was a head shorter than he was. Up close he saw her eyelids were letting slip small droplets of tears that ran down her cheeks reluctantly.

"I missed you," she whispered, her voice still perfect, not giving out any hint that she was on the verge of crying. It was something he always admired about her. She wasn't made of butter and jelly. She was concrete. Strong. Resilient.

She still spoke flawlessly despite the effort she was expending on holding back her tears. Her voice never cracked, she never choked on her letters.

"I missed you and the more I thought about it the more I realized running away never helped anything. Logic came to me, I came to my senses, and I knew I had to come back."

She stared at his eyes. They were softer than she had ever seen. It was his turn to speak.

"You _know_ I couldn't just let go of you that easily," he mumbled. "I never dated you Sumire—"

Her eyes flashed confusion.

"—because I _loved_ you."

All thought left her head.

"I loved you too much. I've been with you since childhood and God knows how I've been looking after you the way Natsume has been. I've loved you nearly all _your_ life and then I find that you just go and leave like that because you say you're afraid of what could happen to us?"

Tears were racing down her cheeks now.

"I had you for _four _months and then you come to me one night and tell me it's over and that you're giving me the chance to _forget _you? _Forget_ you when I've lived with the knowledge of _loving _you for years and more to count?"

"What's your point?" Her voice was starting to waver, but he knew only _he _could tell the difference.

"You asked for the impossible, Sumire," he said to her. They were inches apart. "Just like what Mikan is asking Natsume now. Everything that's happening to them hurts him, but you could never imagine how it affects me. It's like seeing everything all over again. It's a replay. And all the questions kept cropping up and I had to deal with it _alone_ and it..."

"What?"

"It wasn't easy," he finished dejectedly. "Not with you around."

Sumire was rendered completely speechless and opted to lose herself in his gaze.

"Sumire, we could have been the best thing _ever," _Koko said, the pleading in his voice was evident. "We only had to try."

"We could _still_ be," she said firmly. "And we _are_."

Without hesitation she closed the gap between their lips.

* * *

Next chapter will be all about the truth, now. I'll be lashing out at you. Sorry it took too long to update. Stupid hacker. And don't worry about the pen name. I'm just playing around. And I'm guessing you're a little intrigued by Sumire and Koko. (:

I'm trying really hard to make up for lost chances...

_~Ash._


	14. Vague Truths, Clear Plans

**Ashy-note **I've re-read my story and I could not believe how far I've gone. I an such a wimp for ever thinking of turning my back on this one, and reading all your reviews I've realized that I would never have dared to leave this story, one way or another I would have found my way back. I have a surprise cooking up for you guys, anyway, so go figure it out yourselves. Only one clue: _there is a parallel universe to this story_.

By the way, someone was asking what _Essem_ of Chapter 6 meant; it was actually one of my sillier ideas when I was just fourteen (I'm sixteen now, by the way) and was way too young for _Prose Vanity_ (I was still _Winter Moonlight Sonata_). _Essem_ is actually the initials S.M. in words. By that I'm hoping you already figure out what _Essem_ means. In case you don't, well… I'll just reply to your PMs or reviews. (Tee hee. :3) Also I realized I made a serious error in chapters 10 and 13; both had the same song in it, but in chapter 10, Mikan wrote the song and in chapter 13, it was Koko. I AM SO, SO SORRY. I have been so careless about that one, so how about we do it this way: re-read chapter 10? I re-edited it again; I took down the lyrics so you don't have to get confused anymore, and please… forgive me for that stupid, stupid mistake. AND there is one part in this chapter, too, that may seem familiar to you. It's from chapter 3—the dream, remember? I think it's time you guys find out about the truth. (:

Listen to _All At Once_ by The Fray while reading this chapter. Or maybe not, because so many things will happen all in one chapter so maybe it'll distract you… Nonetheless, you deserve to hear one of my favorites. :D

(This chapter is 5000 words long, excluding this time-wasting Ashy-note.)

* * *

**"**_**Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same."**  
~The Fray, All At Once._

* * *

Never in her life had she felt so nervous about entering a café as now, while she stood shivering outside the doors of the _La Maison du Café_ where she was due to meet her best friend in less than two minutes.

She never expected this kind of thing, never anticipated such a stir in her best friend's mind that would lead to her coming all the way to Paris. It sounded so irrational yet it perfectly made sense in a way, because after all it had been _she_ who left without a word. It would be ungrateful for her to walk away then and there, but…

_So many buts…_

She had to face it. Hotaru was her best friend after all. It would be doing her injustice if she didn't explain. She needed the explanation more than anything else. If it was someone who deserved the effort, it would always be Hotaru.

Her eyes were fixed on a plaque mounted up the wall inside the café that read, "Do it or live with it" and she heaved a deep breath at how fate seemed to love taunting her and making her go crazy when she was already crazy enough to begin with.

_Do it or live with it._

The words sounded over and over in her head and in a split second, she made up her mind.

She opened the door, finally, and the bell groaned at her action but she didn't mind.

Her eyes searched for amethyst and black, and when she found them she cried.

* * *

Sprawled on the floor and out of breath from his running exercise, Shino closed his eyes and fought all the other thoughts in his head as they began to swarm all over him again. For the past few weeks he'd been trying to get his conscience to side with him, but he had to admit the damn thing was perfectly coded; God had made no mistakes about the conscience's power to make you see what was right and wrong. The guilt was overbearing.

True, he hated Natsume and his guts, but that was just about it. He loved his cousin more than anything in the world because he was the last family he has left since his mother died years ago, but it was just so overwhelming how differently they were treated, how much they were compared even though obviously they were so dissimilar. It must have been those teenage years when he went through all the crappy sorts of stuff Natsume never had to go through, like acne or bullying or getting dumped by girls; Natsume was perfect to every one, and he was the flawed guy who was only his cousin and no one more. It must have been that, and his infatuation for Mikan Sakura, that led him to go to Anna Hyuuga less than a week ago.

He rolled over on the floor, stomach twanging in guilt and confusion, as he recalled what had happened.

He called in on her the morning after Anna's return. It was all a bit eerie to him how he walked into the room of his foreboding grandmother, but back then he thought he was doing the right thing—that, and he was sure the woman would cooperate.

She always felt a little less for him that for Natsume. Of course, that was slightly expected, what with Natsume being "better" than him always. But in this situation, they were both at a win-win, and when he voiced out his request after Anna Hyuuga's impatient "What do you want", Shino was then sure he hit the bait.

Now, as he still lay on the floor of his bedroom, he was drowning in self-aimed fury and fumigated guilt. He wondered why he had to say those words. He wondered why he had to be so selfish.

"_I want Mikan Sakura out of Natsume Hyuuga's life."_

_Anna looked up from her book behind the desk she sat in and surveyed him through her cold turquoise eyes. He remembered how the sweat ran cold down his nape, but he kept his stare as adamant as possible. She put down the book and asked him to sit down._

"_Why do you want that girl out of Natsume's life?" said Anna. "I could only infer that you want her to yourself."_

"_I do," he answered without second thoughts. "I want her. I always wanted her, ever since the family dinner."_

The feeling of want and need suddenly washed over him again, just like when he uttered those words in front of his grandmother: The feeling of being able to find something that makes you want to live, the feeling of wanting it to stay beside you… the need for it to stay. He wanted her, needed her… she made him feel like he was one of the best, not just second to his perfect cousin.

But as he recalled how devastated Natsume was when he broke the news to him harshly, he realized that Natsume's needs and wants for her are greater than by a mile.

The memory played like a movie in his head.

"_We could bring her back, renew your plans from four years ago, get Natsume to marry that girl again and then send Mikan away for good. I'll follow after her. I'll make her fall in love with me and get her to clear off Natsume's path, so you get what you want in a way."_

_Her eyebrows rose in critique. "And you suppose your plans will work?"_

"_Yes. I'll make sure they will."_

He stood up and walked over to his bed where he fell, sighing and feeling angry at himself.

To add more to that guilt was the fact that he had heard from Misaki Andou. She said Mikan hasn't been doing well and that she shuts herself up most of the time inside her bedroom and rarely moves around at all.

He never wanted this. One moment's worth of weakness and selfishness leads to this kind of whirl wind. He could not believe himself. He felt so stupid, so damn worthless than he's ever been in his life.

He had to redeem himself. He had to. There was no other way for it.

The question was how.

* * *

The past few days have been witness to the flurry of drama that had passed over the band. Koko and Sumire got back again after so long, Kitsu and Anna have been engaged, and he and Hotaru had an agreement to let her leave for Paris first to sort out Mikan. None of these were able to pacify him, though, from the thought of what his best friend was currently going through.

Despite trying to distract himself with wedding preparations (which he was so terrible at) and band rehearsals, it didn't escape his notice that Natsume was being harder on himself than usual. The past five days have been such a drag. Ironically, though, so much was happening in so little time, everything was moving much too fast for anybody's comfort, least of all Natsume's.

He breathed in deep before making his presence known to his oblivious best friend.

"Natsume, are you sure you want to do this? We can cancel the concert for a while. You don't have to do this."

Ruka stood hovering over his best friend while he watched Natsume fine-tune his guitar. They had over an hour before concert starts. People were starting to grow in numbers, committees were getting busy. He knew Natsume shouldn't be here, he knew that given his way Natsume would have flown all the way to Paris with Hotaru instead of doing this concert, but he chose to do so anyway.

Natsume ignored him but he just kept dissuading him anyway. "Nat, this isn't such an easy time for you."

"Relax, Ruka," said Natsume. His voice sounded bleak and weary; that didn't fall on deaf ears. "I'm going to do this. Don't worry about me."

Ruka sighed, a sound at which Natsume looked at him. His scarlet eyes softened. "You worry too much for your own good."

"How could I not?" he fired back. "You're going through this again and yet you're not even thinking of taking a leave just to get all this fat load of crap off your back."

Natsume gave him a wan smile while he only sighed again. _This man is going to kill himself from overwork_.

Instead of attempting the impossible, however, he just opted for a change of topic. "Who wrote the song, by the way?"

He didn't need a psychic to know which song Ruka was talking about. "She did. She gave it to me just before she left."

Ruka looked slightly surprised at this piece of information. Rendered speechless, all he managed to get out was a small "Natsume…"

Once again, his best friend smiled at him, this time more forceful than the last. The next words Natsume uttered to him before he left the room made him feel so much better about the outlook of things.

"I'm going to fight for her, Ruka. I'm not letting her go anymore. Not this time."

* * *

The sounds of car doors slamming closed brought the old woman out of her reverie.

_It seems I fell asleep again_, she thought grimly. _I am growing old._

She made her way towards the window and caught a glimpse of shiny black hair whipping out of sight before she let out a satisfied smile quite unlike the smirks and jeers she was so used to projecting in front of other people. It was a genuine smile, one she reserved mostly for herself for reasons known only to her.

Happiness is a vulnerability. She'd always stuck to that principle.

Which is why she put her own dearest grandson's happiness at stake; he can't be happy. No. Not when she never had her fair share of happiness. And besides, it was a weakness. Ultimately the happiness you cherish is the one thing that destroys you inch by inch.

A few minutes later a knock on the door ensued throughout the silence of her study, and in came Shino, along with a girl. When she stepped in Anna Hyuuga could not help but open her arms in silent greeting, a small smile grazing her face, showing the long-forgotten beauty that was buried beneath layers and layers of wrinkled, old skin.

"Asuka," she said quietly as she hugged the girl. "Welcome home, dear."

"I'm glad to be home, Obaa-sama."

She forgot how melodic her granddaughter's voice was.

When she let go of the young girl, she stepped back to admire her. Her hair, black as the night, fell long and silky-straight down her back. Her eyes were tawny and sparkled with evident glee. She was taller, Anna thought, and she was much more beautiful than the last time she saw her.

"You look beautiful, my sweet Asuka."

She once more marveled at the beauty that was to become Natsume Hyuuga's better half before dismissing both Asuka and Shino, saying the former needed some rest. There was nothing more in it to do other than to wait for her grandson to come home from the concert he was tending to. She hoped that after four years everything would be back in order, because her plans were being delayed much longer than she expected.

The Hyuuga family had traditions. For one, the next Hyuuga heir should be introduced in public at nineteen, which was the traditional Hyuuga male's coming of age. For another, it was a Hyuuga custom that brothers, sisters, and cousins intermarry. It was their way of keeping the family blood intact. It ruled out all possibility of _bad blood_ from entering and jeopardizing the whole Hyuuga clan's reputation which all their ancestors had worked hard for in the hundreds of years that the bloodline has existed. It was all so medieval, she knew that, but she was intent on keeping it that way.

Anna had practically planned out Natsume's entire existence. He was to be announced heir on his nineteenth birthday. He was to take over at twenty-three, married at twenty-five to his cousin, Asuka Hyuuga, daughter of Ishino Hyuuga. He would bear the next heir, and the cycle would start all over again. If he didn't bear any child, Youichi will take over, and he will bear the same things his brother went through.

It was perfect, until Mikan Sakura came to the picture.

With her appearance, everything went astray. Even now Anna Hyuuga still had a spot of trouble containing her anger at the brown-haired girl that completely threw everything pell-mell. _She's just a gold-digger, hankering after the riches we had worked so hard to attain. That little girl needs to move away._

She recalled what had happened years ago as she sat back in her chair, eyes closed and breathing a little shallow, trying to control her violent reaction.

* * *

_A fist came slamming down her mahogany table. She flinched but she remained upright and determined to not give the boy a shot at her weaknesses. She was fuming but like her grandson, she kept under the normal stoic pretense. At seventy-five one would have to think she'd grown weaker and that she wouldn't be able to stand this heated conversation, but once again, Anna Hyuuga proved her spectators wrong. Kairi and Akira Hyuuga watched from the sidelines. Aoi, Youichi, and Shino were all sent back to their bedrooms. There were only four people in the room, but the Hyuuga couple barely moved an inch; Kairi was crying._

_The nineteen-year-old boy Natsume looked at her through unfocused, anger-blinded eyes but the cool and collected façade didn't fail to make an impression on him. The red tinge in his eyes, however, seemed to resemble blood and an unquenchable thirst for it._

"_I won't marry that girl," he said acidly to her face. The fury that rendered him incorrigible to all forms of attempts at making him see sense was taking over his every muscle and it was only a few words away from him lunging at her to slash her throat. "You can't make me. For God's sake at least let me be happy."_

"_You do not deserve happiness," she said to him calmly. Her teal eyes, however, betrayed the malice and bubbling impatience that she nursed within her._

_It was only a week ago that she found out her grandson renounced his position as heir of the Hyuuga Empire. It was only that evening that she found out why, after having been told by a spy from inside the school._

"_Happiness is a weakness, Natsume. She is a weakness."_

"_She's the one thing that keeps me going," he spat back at her._

_She remained stalwart. "You are going to marry your cousin Asuka. You will announce your re-acceptance to become heir. You will follow the decrees of the Hyuuga family. You will not stay with the piece of a hovel you call a girlfriend. You will stay away from her. You will break up with her. You will not break tradition."_

"_Fuck your damn traditions! Stop dictating my life!"_

_She elapsed into silence, looking offended by the direct refusal of her grandson that came with the vulgarity. "Why you ungrateful little swine—!" _

"_Shut up!" he screamed again. "Shut up!"_

_Kairi whimpered as she buried her head deeper into Akira's shoulder. She, however, barely showed any sign of affectedness whatsoever. All she did was stare at her angered grandson._

"_All my life I've heard 'you will' and 'you will not' and I've never heard anything else from that mouth of yours! But why should you care about my happiness, huh, Obaa-san? Why should you care when you were so deprived of it? When you were do doomed to such a miserable life, living like a pawn—"_

"_Natsume!"_

"—_without feeling or love! You're a miser, you have had no life in you! You are desperate and you don't want to end up like the only lonely fool so you want all of us to become like you—"_

"_You shut up _now_, Natsume Hyuuga!"_

"—_because you felt miserable and now you want everyone to feel the same because you're such a selfish, wretched woman!"_

"_You _will_ listen to me, Natsume Hyuuga!"_

_Natsume breathed heavily after the tirade of truths that he let slip. Years and years of bitterness that all groveled up inside him were released in seconds, and she herself had to steadily breathe just so she could regain her composure._

"_How dare you—"_

"_Don't—" Natsume bit out sharply, eyes going wild again "—dare deny what I've just said."_

"_You ungrateful child."_

_It took her every will not to shake with the acidic flare that shook her insides. She could not believe her grandson had said such things, she could not believe he'd turn against her after all this time._

_She could hear Kairi asking Akira to leave the room. She could hear Natsume's ragged panting. She could hear her own, shriveled heart beating painfully in her chest._

"_You will break up with her. Or else—" _

"_Or else what?"_

"—_I will wipe her off the country. Leave her crawling like a bug towards every piece of shelter she could find. Wipe out her permanent records enough to make her die of hunger and poverty. Make every school refuse her, every employer reject her application. I will make her life a living hell."_

_She watched as the stricken look spread across Natsume's face and she smiled in vindictive fury._

"_Make a choice, Natsume Hyuuga. A choice between me and her."_

_It was an impromptu decision; she never really meant to do such things but the words he had screamed in her face brought only so much anger that the authority she held rose to its fullest level. She made sure her grandson knew every single thing that could happen. She left him with no choice._

_If there was one thing Anna Hyuuga was good at, it was getting what she wanted. And obviously this round she wins. _

_She watched as Natsume's red eyes blazed with the magnitude of her proposal; he looked like he was going insane and for a minute she saw a look of murder cross the boy's eyes. She never thought it would have that sort of effect on him and for a moment she was afraid. She was old, after all, and she had nothing against a powerful youth._

_It became evident, however, that she had nothing to worry about when Natsume straightened up and, controlling his shaking body, looked her point-blank in the eyes._

_He gave up._

_Half-heartedly and stiffly bowing down to her he left the room, taking care to slam the door shut behind him so much that the panels rattled in their hinges._

_It was the day Natsume Hyuuga gave up Mikan Sakura. It was the day when everything started to go wrong. _

_It was all because of Anna Hyuuga._

* * *

_Standing under the rain usually made her feel good, but this time it made her feel scared. Especially in front of the guy she loved, who was looking at her so coldly it seeped right through her skin and into her very bones._

_She forced herself to say the very words she had wanted to say to him since the first day of this confusion. "Natsume, I need to know."_

_Her voice sounded so distant to her that it was such a surprise Natsume looked at her in reply, but the look he gave her only crushed the little confidence she had left._

_The past two weeks were like hell to her. He had been constantly ignoring her, acting like she was air for the most part of the times they were together. Sure, they went out, but they all feel forced, and most of the time it was her who had to initiate it. He'd say yes, then they'd walk around, but it would be like walking with herself, and except for the part where he paid the bills he made no other move that would indicate his knowledge of her presence._

_It hurt like hell. Now she felt like she wasn't so sure if she was ready for the dour reply that he was bound to give her, because she knew that if those two weeks were hell, the coming days would be even further down. If hell had another hell, she was sure to suffer there._

_And it wasn't fair that only she should suffer so much. Or maybe she just was being too selfish…_

_He shifted uncomfortably and they were still facing each other, drenched in wetness. She raised her head and even before he opened his mouth she knew the words were coming but she could never have prepared herself enough for it anyway. It still felt like a boxer's punch to the gut._

"_I'm breaking up with you."_

_He said it with such coldness that she found it hard to believe until she realized that this might have been all it could ever be. She looked him fiercely in the eye and replied as harshly as she could, though she felt mad at the tears for threatening to spill over. "Finally," she said with a voice equally as cold as his, "you had some sense in you to tell me. You coward."_

_His eyes sparkled with incense. "You called me a what?"_

"_A coward! You didn't have the guts to tell me after all this time!"_

"_You don't even know what I'm going through!" He shouted at her._

_She grew livid; so this was _her_ fault now? She begged to differ! "Because you don't even bother telling me!"_

"_Ever think that maybe I can't tell you the truth?"_

_The discussion was chipping away at both their composures. Slowly she could feel herself losing grip of her temper, and she knew he was feeling the same._

"_It's because I'm not worth the truth, aren't I?" she said to him. Good thing it was raining; it helped a little to know that he couldn't tell the tears from the raindrops._

"_Don't jump to such conclusions."_

"_Then what is it then? Huh? Care to explain? Because for the past two weeks I've been half-crazy trying to think of the wrong things I might have done to cause such a thing! Do you think it's easy being ignored by you?"_

"_Do you think it's easy ignoring you?" His scarlet eyes narrowed dangerously, accusingly. "Because damn you if you think it is when it isn't! It isn't anywhere near easy, not when I see you around always, not when I feel your pain, not when with every time I look at you I want to kiss you and hug you knowing it might be the last!"_

_Those two words were like bullets to her brain. "The… last?"_

_His rage subsided at the sudden grief-stricken tone she had taken and when he looked at her he cried. The rain did well at hiding those tears, and he was eternally thankful for them._

"_I'm leaving you. For good. This isn't just a break-up. This is goodbye."_

_All those promises she held on to were gone in the seconds that it took for him to say those words and in no time she spun round her heels and fled._

_She was ran through the thick black forest, through the veil of heavy rain. She heard a voice calling her name but she didn't listen. She felt so agonized, so alone, so...rejected. She wanted to go away because staying there was hurting her like a dagger. She just needed to get away._

_"__Mikan! Let me explain! It wasn't my choice!"_

_"You had __every__ choice!" she screamed back at her pursuer._

_"Just… stop running away! Listen to me, please!"_

"_I've listened and I've heard enough already!"_

_A firm hand grasped her arm, and she was forced to turn and face him. She kept her eyes closed, begging them not to open, not to look the person in the eyes, but her heart failed her. Slowly her eyes opened, tears began spraying down her reddish cheeks. She faced the person, and she could barely breathe when she glanced upon the drenched shirt, and her eyes began travelling up to look at the person's face, but all she felt was an empty hollow in her chest where her heart was so quickly carved out._

"_Mikan, I love you," he said. The distress in his voice would have made it all clear to her, but she refused. She didn't want to hear anything anymore. This wasn't getting any easier. She wanted out. "I'm sorry, but I'm choosing someone else over you."_

It's for your own good_, he thought ruefully to himself as the tears slid down both their cheeks._

_She fisted his wet shirt and hit his chest as hard as she could but her strength failed her and all she did was run away. _

_That time he let her go._

* * *

As she finished recounting the story, Mikan's eyes had tears in them. She kept silent, however, partly because she didn't know what to say and partly because she knew her best friend needed the small amount of silence after the particularly painful recollection.

Sitting inside her hotel room sofa and remembering how everything had happened was too difficult for her, Hotaru knew that more than anyone else. So when Mikan finished telling her the beginning of what was going to be a long afternoon, she knew the poor brunette needed a break. She went to the kitchen and pulled out chocolate cake and cookies and a glass of water and set it on the table, but Mikan just stared at them.

She only sighed and instead went on about fixing the satellite receptor she had brought with her. Working to distract herself by attaching the gadget to the television screen didn't do any help, however. Thoughts still flooded her mind.

It was times like these when she really despised being a genius.

While tinkering with wires and connectors here and there, all the while seeing the frozen Mikan on the sofa, she thought of her best friend's story. She knew the general details—Ruka told her everything, of course—but she never knew it was all to this extent. The damage wasn't minimal. In fact, inflicted on such a fragile subject like Mikan it was probably deadly, and so she had to thank God her best friend didn't do anything rash and dangerous during those four years that she's had to endure the kind of pain she was put through. In fact, for the first time, she felt thankful for the fact that her best friend's obsession was writing.

She checked her watch after finishing the setup: 5:53 pm, Tokyo time.

Seven minutes before the execution of Hyuuga's plan.

Once upon a time she thought Hyuuga's plans were a little too far-fetched and somewhat unnecessarily overdramatic, but hearing the story firsthand from one of the people involved made her realize that these steps were just right. After all, they were dealing with such a powerful woman. That would also explain why he had asked for her help.

"Mikan," she said gently to her best friend. She wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her dress and looked up to her, smiling, eyes red and puffy but at least dry. _Typical Mikan_, she mused, _to be smiling even after that._

She always admired her strength.

She set aside her sentiments to make way for the harsher realities they were facing now. "I want you to watch something first."

She nodded and rearranged herself on the sofa.

Hotaru knew what was about to happen would be dangerous and very painful to Mikan so she didn't hesitate about dishing out the warning so bluntly. Inside, though, she felt the prickles of a needle wheedling her to get her sweet Mikan out of this mess.

She fixed the brunette one of her sternest yet warmest gazes. "This is going to hurt a lot, but I need you to stay strong. I need you to be rational through the entire thing you'll be watching. You can cry, you can laugh, but you can't walk away."

Mikan looked slightly taken aback by her terms, but she nodded her head still. "Okay."

She checked the time again. 6:00.

It was time. _This is it._

She turned on the TV and prepared herself as well for what was to come next, because this live satellite coverage of Cire's concert wasn't just because it the greatest concert of all, but because it also held in it the greatest declaration of love and war ever known to the world of show business. In four hours' time, the plan drafted by her and Natsume would be put into action, and then the ball starts rolling from thereon.

She recalled Natsume's last words to her before she boarded the plane for Paris.

"_What a Hyuuga wants, a Hyuuga always gets."_

Somehow she smiled. She leaned by the window just as she heard Mikan's gasp and the roar of crowds, which means the concert has finally begun. She looked behind her and saw Mikan's reaction and yet again smiled. She wanted very much to speak her thoughts and let Mikan know everything, but she figured the girl will know about it soon enough. She didn't want to spoil the surprise.

Her thoughts lingered on the blaring truth that was about to change everything.

_This time, Natsume is fighting for you, Mikan. He will be fighting for you until the end, make no mistake about that._

* * *

Everything was so abstract, wasn't it? Apologies if you didn't like the chapter. At least a little truth has been told, right? I don't think I did well enough but I hope it was satisfactory…

By the way, you'll find my update status in my profile. The story in bold face is the one I'm currently working on, 'kay? (:

Boy, I'm glad to have updated this after so long. :D The ending's drawing near.

~Ash.


	15. Shino's Move

**Ashy-note** I'm very, very thankful for the number of reviewers who've kept tabs on this story even though I haven't been as good an author to you guys. Still, I wish that now, as we're finally nearing the end, you all keep supporting this fic. It has come a long, long way.

I have had shortcomings, I know, and I ask you to forgive me for them.

Dedicated to _SeraphMia_, because I completely adored how you voiced out your surprise in your review about me being WMS, haha, and to all the reviewers of the last chapter, because you guys (_Iris petals, natsumeslover, sapphireangel09, Alexis981, HelloThia, DuchesShy, Ria, nightraven54, xXBluefangXx, akadabra-kaching, Andrea, Aishiteru-anata, Tormented Fallen Lover, Kuroichibineko, Kylee-Cat, ayaka chi, ravencrimson, Noeyy, and MangAnimePrincess_) have been soooo cool in your reviews and of course, they give me reason to keep writing.

Shoutout to **ravencrimson** – hunny, is your name a subtle reference to a Hyuuga-Imai pairing? If it is, I'm up for grabs, haha! If you're willing to challenge me, that is. XD

**-:|:-**

* * *

The door shook violently when it sprang open to reveal a flushed but calm Natsume. She just stared him down as coldly as usual, but deep inside, her anger flared white-hot. If there was one thing Anna Hyuuga hated more than anything, it was surprises. Pleasant or unpleasant, no one should intrude on her unless completely needed. No one was an exception, not even her favorite grandson.

It had better be something worthwhile. Or else.

"I have been accustomed to expecting better manners from you, Natsume," she bit out darkly, raising her eyes from the volume she perused prior to the intrusion. "I didn't bring you up to be the heir and expect you to come barging into your grandmother's study without so much as an act of respect."

Natsume stood in front of her, fists clenched, but his words were crisp, stern, elegant as ever. "I have _had _it."

Her eyebrows shot up. She expected everything but a sudden aggressive denial of her power of the child. Better than beating around the bush, however, she opted to a direct confrontation. "What are you going on about, child? Whatever your problems or concerns are, I assure you there should be none. Your heirship has been confirmed ages ago and your wedding is well attended to—"

"That's just it," he broke off her. "That's just what this is about."

Teal eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously. "What is this about, Natsume? "

His reply came quick, determination flooding his handsome features. "I'm not marrying Asuka. I'm not going to be heir."

She put the book down harshly and roved around her desk to stand in front of her grandson, who was stronger and no less than a head taller than her.

"What are you saying, boy? " she asked him, her eyes contracted until her eyebrows were nothing more than one thin line across her aged forehead.

He answered her back in tones that spoke an entirely different set of meanings on its own. "Exactly what I just said," he told her in a voice of pure finesse. "I'm renouncing my share in the empire. I'm abdicating my role in the Hyuuga heirship."

That hit her. Hard. And she knew only one reason that could make him say these things at such an hour.

"Is this still about that gold-digging girl you claim you love?" she asked him venomously, her eyes scouring his for any hint of fright, but to no avail.

"I don't claim to love her," said Natsume sharply. "Because _I do love her_."

She gave him a look that clearly meant _You will obey me, or else_, but the effect that the stare gave her grandson long ago seemed to not work anymore now. Natsume's crimson eyes stared back, unflinching, unafraid, and for once, Anna Hyuuga felt afraid. Anna began to feel the slightest flicker of fear, because this plan—this was one plan that she did not mean to fail in. She'd crumble and fall if she failed to have the union between Natsume and Asuka. But somehow, she felt a sliver of guilt, for she had, after all, never told Natsume (nor anyone, for that matter) the whole truth.

It seemed the time had come.

She sighed in defeat. "Don't you have a concert to attend to?"

"They can wait. I'll leave now," he replied. "I only came here to make my intentions clear, Grandmother." At this note he rose to leave, but she stopped him.

"Sit down," she barked strictly at Natsume, who followed nonetheless. "At least hear me out before you choose to abdicate your throne in the Hyuuga empire."

"Seriously, Baa-san, do you think it's a royalty?" Natsume said to her loudly; the last statement goaded him into speech. All this _royalty_ nonsense drove him to his limits. "All I've ever learned from you is how you think being a Hyuuga makes you practically royal!"

"Because it does!" she fought back, gripping the edges of her table to tightly that her veins were beginning to show. "You know better than to leave your role for such fickle reasons as _love_!"

"Just because you never had your fair share of happiness doesn't mean you have to inflict your misfortune on all of us!" Natsume stood up unconsciously and placed his hands on the table littered with papers he neither knew of nor cared about. "You don't have to impose your bitterness on all of us! Aoi, Sumire, Shino! Mom and Dad! And now, me? You can't control me, Grandmother, not with your materialistic threats of disowning me, I'm not afraid. Just because you never married the man you loved the most doesn't mean I have to follow your footsteps the same way you forced my parents into following you."

Natsume was breathing heavily when he forced himself back from his stunned grandmother.

Anna looked like she was going to scream at him some more, but thought better of it. Taking huge amounts of breath to control the storming rage inside of her, she stood up straight and looked straight into her grandson's eyes.

She never thought he'd say such words against her.

Partly, it made her proud.

"Sit back down," she ordered the flaming Hyuuga. "You haven't heard my reasons for this yet."

"I don't want to and I don't need to."

"Just _listen to me, _boy."

They stared at each other for a long time before he broke free from her gaze and sat down as told.

She moved and fidgeted around before she finally found her voice and spoke, taking care to not meet his eyes.

"You have by far defied me. I was expecting so much more obedience from my future heir," she began as she took her seat behind the desk as well and began rummaging in her files for something. Whatever it was, Natsume didn't care. "I was expecting that after that girl's sudden escape, I would have thought you'd realize how she used you."

"You don't know anything," Natsume hissed out. She looked mildly surprised.

"On the contrary, dear son, it is you who are ignorant of the reality we're facing here," she crooned, a wicked smile forming in her face. The lies suddenly piled up in her head and left her mouth smoothly. "She left you after coming to me saying she wanted to break all ties with you, in exchange for me providing for her needs in Paris."

"You're lying."

_These lies are a necessity,_ she thought sadly to herself.

"Oh, I'm not," she simpered on. "She said she's tired of you and that she didn't want you anymore after having found refuge in your cousin. I never really cared about Kazikawa, so I let her run off with your mongrel of a cousin. I believe that, whether in broad daylight or under the covers of their bed, she is in Paris making guiltless love to the hovel that you call your blood-cousin, until he came home weeks ago to settle once and for all their affairs. Somehow I can't help but think affairs is the best word…"

His face paled terribly, but he said nothing. She felt satisfied at the silence.

"Now, back to our original agenda," though there was no agenda to speak of in the first place, "I want you to analyze this."

She handed him a black folder, upon whose face the words STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL was strewn all over. Natsume took it in his disinterestedly, but after a few minutes his face arranged itself to reveal deep thinking and somehow a flurry of confusion and shock.

"The company's falling," he muttered absently before glancing up at a now serious Anna Hyuuga. "The company's steadily declining." He waited for some sort of reason or denial from the great woman, but there was none. "Grandmother? What is this about?"

Her eyes, like his, revealed the truth of what was going on inside of her, the truth of her emotions, and the expression on her teal eyes was something Natsume did not like. At all.

They were desperate, somber, and a little afraid. Droplets loomed around the corners of her eyes, and though her face remained as stony as ever, her lips shook when she parted them for a breath of air and there was a hint of vulnerability in the way she spoke her next words.

"I believe—" she began in a cracking, raspy voice, "—that it is time you know about the truth."

* * *

"Impressive intro, Yuu," said he said to their loyal manager, patting him on the back. "I never thought you could pull off such mysterious aura in a speech, can't wait to hear you say that one tonight."

His blue eyes lacked their usual luster, Yuu noted, but that was only to be expected. This night's concert, apart from being a finale, was a make or break performance for Natsume, Mikan, Ruka, and Hotaru. He couldn't blame the rock star for being a little off-color, not when his best friend's happiness and _his_ own wedding were at stake.

"Yeah, thanks Ruka," he only said, before seeing another blonde head pop out.

"Yeah it's gonna be good, can't wait until he goes all _Let the end begin _and all that!" snickered Koko, who stood right behind them holding Sumire's hand and pulling her along. "Sumire even thought it went a little too far."

"Don't use go straw-man on me, Sandy," she smirked, tapping his arm none too gently.

"Don't call me Sandy if you don't want me calling you Permy." Koko fixed her an alarmed and silencing gaze. Sumire laughed while Yuu shot him a mocking look. "_Sandy,_ Koko?" Yuu said, feigning disgust at the name. "I'd rather _Permy_ for Sumire, but Sandy just doesn't do."

"I don't recall _you_ ever complaining about my nicknames, Yuu, when you've had so much fun calling me them," Koko spat back. "C'mon, Sumire, let's go."

"Ooh, someone's touchy," scorned Yuu, laughing gently at the irate Koko. "Gotta go, guys. Concert's in two minutes, pull yourselves together."

Koko and Ruka stared at him as though he were nuts, but he shook off their worry. "Don't worry, guys," he told them, "we've all got enough on our plates without Natsume. I'm sure he'll be fine."

But he didn't look convinced himself.

"Sumire, let's go, I'll bring you to your seat," said Koko, pulling at Sumire's hand. Instead of following him, however, she held him up for a second and met with Ruka's eyes. Her green pools were scared, worried… she inwardly thanked God Koko couldn't see how she looked like or else _he'd_ be infected with her worry as well, because her gaze held within it all the questions that had bugged her since Imai's departure early that morning.

He knew what she had in mind just by looking at her, and with a calm voice, though he himself was worried as hell, he assured her.

"They'll be fine. Natsume is sorting things out now."

She gave him a grateful smile before the stage director ushered Ruka and Koko on stage.

"Love you, Sandy!" she exclaimed before leaving backstage and taking her seat in the audience.

Ruka breathed in, Koko fidgeted, and Kitsuneme sighed deeply as they heard the tell-tale signs of a hushing crowd. The sound system gave off a loud feedback, a Cire trademark which meant performance was about to start shortly.

"I guess this is it, then," said Kitsuneme. "This is it."

"This is gonna be one hell of a long, long night," said Koko, a huge grin on his face.

"Sad about Natsume though."

"Oh, no, don't be," Koko contradicted, turning to look at Kitsuneme with a bright, optimistic smile. "He'll be here. He never broke his word. Besides, that hot head would do anything for her but I'm sure he knows three boys'll kill him if he doesn't show up."

Kitsuneme agreed, but Ruka only kept silent, mulling over Koko's words in his head.

"And I'm looking forward to how Natsume reacts when I propose to Sumire tonight," continued the Yome.

At this, Ruka and Kitsuneme turned to look at him so suddenly, eyes wide, before laughing it off; the concert was about to begin, they'll have time to nag Koko about that plan of his later, in which they'll congratulate him is she says yes and put up with his miseries if she says no.

Ruka could only sigh.

It was going to be a long, _long_ night.

* * *

She had just finished telling him the truth. All her pride, bared in the minutes in which she exposed everything to her grandson. And yet, before she had time to rest, another intrusion came. This time from her secretary.

"Madam," said Enrique in hurried tones; he had obviously run all the way here, judging from his heavy panting. "The hangar just called in, it has just been reported that Shino Kazikawa took one of our jets. The fastest one, in fact."

She stood up from her seat in alarm. "Where is he headed off to?"

Natsume looked surprised as well, but this time there was mingled relief and vindictive triumph in his face.

"The director said the flight plan was headed for Paris, taking a route via China."

Anna's eyes were huge, and she spared Natsume one small look before he ran out of the room.

"This is the proof of your lies, Grandmother," he told her before he left.

And in the darkness of that room, she wallowed in the failure of her greatest, most critical plan ever.

It seemed everything was falling apart for Anna Hyuuga.

* * *

The auditorium was a hushed puppy when the announcer's voice blared out from the surrounding speakers. It was reminiscent of Yuu Tobita's cool and collected tone in front of cameras, but nobody could really be sure.

For 20,000 people, the silence in the auditorium was _impressive._ It seemed as if everyone held their breaths, not a soul was making a sound. Neither rustle nor breath could be heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Cire: The Finale. Due to the night's events, we are unfortunately informing you that you will be confined to this concert for the next four hours."

_Unfortunate_ doesn't seem to fit the word because at the knowledge, fans inside the venue all screamed in excitement—it was probably record-breaking, to have a concert that would last for more than two hours. It was

"No wonder tickets were sky-high!" exclaimed a young man from the front seat. It had taken him almost ¥17,000 (which is approximately 200USD) to be able to get exclusive non-front-row tickets, and it took only hours to sell out. He looked as if all the effort suddenly seemed worth it.

The announcer's voice rang out again, and the crowd went silent once more.

"There will be no front acts. From eight in the evening until midnight. Tonight's performance will be a pure encore from Cire, as a tribute to all of you fans who have supported them throughout three years."

Another bout of screaming ensued before the voice, yet again, broke the tirade of endless yelling.

"However, we have a small announcement to make."

The crowd silenced at once.

"Natsume Hyuuga will be a few minutes — or hours — late."

In unison the crowd gasped; within seconds the coliseum broke into disappointed mutters, but once again the voice toned them down.

"He will, however, present to you some personal shocking news that, we guarantee you, will be worth the wait."

It was a few seconds before the crowd reacted, but when they did, it was stronger than any shouts they had made so far. It went on for minutes, non-stop; and when the excitement abated Yuu's voice resonated all throughout the venue, almost hauntingly, eerily…

"So let the end…"

The crowd went speechless, breathless, and sweating with excitement.

"…_begin._"

* * *

_Thanks again, guys. I love you all. (:_

_~Ash._


	16. Queen Check

**Ashy-note **I swear my chapters are getting shorter but that's kind of the point, guys, haha. Sorry for the torture yet again, but I really would like to keep the ball rolling. Expect a not-so-fast update this time around. Thanks for the last reviewers! :D

BTW, I committed (yet again) another error in chapter 10, which I already fixed. Tsubasa doesn't appear in any Japan-related chapters/scenes, as he is in Paris with his wife Misaki! :D Sorry about that.

On with the short chapter. (:

The song is a Mayday Parade song. :D

**You know what's annoying? It's when someone (a little girl, specifically) keeps tampering with your docs and deletes chapters so you'll have to upload them again and annoy the readers. Sorry, guys, my cousin's a little too curious of technology. Sorry for the false alarm. (:**

-:|:-

* * *

The lights dimmed, a lone spotlight shone on his shiny straw-colored hair, and then he spoke through the microphone, breaking the silence.

The expectations were for a formal, serious, and heart-wrenching intro, but then again, this was Koko in front of them. Nothing came close to full clownship as Koko, and yet somehow, Yuu did not regret putting Koko on first.

His first statement definitely made the crowd smile and laugh.

"This was written by Hothead — Natsume, obviously — ages ago, for this one girl—and this concert is in tribute to that girl, too, for reasons you'll know later. Sorry for that spoiler, but I don't really regret it."

He laughed, but then shortly afterwards, crowd fell as still as ever, anticipating—

—and in a quick, loud strum of his lead guitars, Ruka had the audience leaping off their chairs.

The melody began playing, and Koko started speaking again while furiously strumming his rhythms.

"This one's _If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?_' and no, don't question me about the song title," said Koko as the melody became clearer and the verse neared. "Again, blame Hothead."

Yet again, the people laughed, and so did he, until in an unnoticed move, he fixed a serious stare at the camera in front of him - one that he knew was detached from the actual system of cameras covering the concert. The camera that he knew sent signals to a room on the higher end of the Earth.

"This one's for you, Brown Eyes."

When the guitars had died out, Koko's voice started to reverberate throughout the venue.

And yes, he was right. His voice was heard 20,000 miles away, at a hotel in Paris.

* * *

The waiting would be over, she thought, once the concert hall lights dim, and when the lone spotlight shines on Koko. Hotaru knew it was bound to be one night to remember until eternity. If not for the fans, then for the band itself.

She wondered vaguely where Natsume was—it wasn't part of the plan to not attend the opening, contrary to that, Natsume had actually wanted to be the opening. She couldn't help but feel a little worried, but she put all her faith in Hyuuga. She knew he knew what was at stake tonight.

If he wasn't doing this for his own happiness, then he would be doing this for Ruka's. For her's. Because part of their plan, part of their agreement, was that if that night's concert didn't work out, Hotaru will have to be parted from Ruka, delaying her wedding, and stay with Mikan for six more years until things have settled down. She'll have to sever all ties with everyone in Japan for both their safeties, because Natsume had explained the measures that Anna Hyuuga was bound to take should his rebellion backfire, and the consequences were drastic that they had settled with no more than the painful settlement. Not even Ruka was able to say no.

But to face those consequences? To delay her and her best friend's happiness? She couldn't have that.

And as much as she loved Mikan, as much as she wanted Mikan's happiness, she wanted her own as well.

_Come on, Hyuuga, don't let us down now._

Her heart beat rapidly, violently against her chest. If it wasn't for the fact that she had to stay strong for her best friend, she would have breathed quickly to relieve her of the pressure building up inside her.

She watched Mikan for any signs of reactions when Koko began speaking, but so far there was not much to note. The tears that had formed by the corners of her eyes were gone now, but there was still the small shake The signal was clear as crystal.

Mikan's hazel eyes were glued to the TV screen.

"_This was written by Hothead —Natsume, obviously— ages ago, for this one girl—and this concert is in tribute to that girl, too, for reasons you'll know later. Sorry for that spoiler, but I don't really regret it."_

She didn't miss the way Mikan's eyes widened ever so slightly. Neither did she miss the subtle glance Koko paid to the small camera in front of him which she knew he knew was her live satellite feed.

She saw Ruka begin to play and couldn't help but feel a little sad—she missed her fiancé.

"_This one's '_If You Can't Live Without Me, Why Aren't You Dead Yet?_' and no, don't question me about the song title. Again, blame Hothead."_

Mikan gave a little snort of laughter. "Stupid Koko," she mumbled, "Hothead, seriously…"

She just watched her best friend, and was pleased by Koko's next dramatic effect.

"_This one's for you, Brown Eyes." _

This time his stare wasn't as subtle, and Mikan gasped, turning to look at her. She only shook her head.

"There's no turning back, Mikan," she told the brunette as Koko began to sing. "I warned you."

The look on Mikan's face was priceless.

_Maybe_, she thought, after seeing the shock in her best friend, _there's a bigger chance than I'd hoped._

* * *

_Baby, I sorely miss the vibrant gleam that's in your eyes  
I'll write a song about it_

The in-flight entertainment system blared out the first few lines of the song to him and he was startled for a moment before he resumed his deep thinking. Shino Kazikawa had his electric blue eyes open, despite the overwhelming power of lethargy that crashed over him like waves on the shore. He closed them for a moment to savor the lyrics of the first song of the last ever Cire concert.

_And maybe if the melody's just right  
I hope tonight it will find you  
It will remind you_

_But what's holding me back is the thought of time we never had_  
_My world's hanging by three words that I can't bear to say_

_When you hear this chorus_  
_Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?_  
_Do you hurt the way that I do?_  
_After all this time you leave me broken_  
_This song is every word I left unspoken_  
_When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us_  
_That you think of us_

He gave himself a small smile and recalled what had happened between him and Natsume little over eight hours ago. He remembered how they had so shrewdly (almost artistically) crafted the plan, how he had pulled every string just to have Shino take the fastest jet to Paris… but if there was one thing he recalled most clearly, it would have to be Natsume's parting words.

"I know you love Asuka," he said to him blandly as he walked over to the door to leave.

"Took me long enough to realize it, but I do," he replied to the Hyuuga, looking him dead on the red irises.

Natsume gave him a smile that verged on a smirk. "Relax," he had told her. "She loves you too."

Somehow, he couldn't help but feel that everything was going to be fine.

The captain's intercom cackled. _"Shino-sama, we're due to land in fifty minutes."_

_Yes, _thought Shino. _Everything will soon be fine._

* * *

He could hear everything going on in the concert and he found himself somehow singing along as his bike reached top speed.

He wanted to clear himself of the facts that Anna Hyuuga had told him earlier, but that part proved to be too easy once he was concentrating hard on this particular project of his.

_Baby, I told myself that I'll be fine but it's a lie  
I don't want to talk about it  
Memories, oh they cut like knives  
Deep inside I'm falling  
Baby, catch me if you can_

_What's holding me back is the thought of time we never had_  
_My world's hanging by three words that I can't bear to say_

_When you hear this chorus_  
_Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?_  
_Do you hurt the way that I do?_  
_After all this time you leave me broken_  
_This song is every word I left unspoken_  
_When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us_

He raced through the streets on his motorbike, the wind whipping across his face and striking it numb, but he didn't mind much. From his earphones he could hear Yuu's reports of the concert to him, detailed, step by step.

_When you hear this chorus  
Do you miss the way the world was spinning for us?  
Do you hurt the way that I do?_

"_We're nearly done with the first song, Natsume," _said Yuu, "_which do we do next?"_

"Have Ruka sing _Angel to You, Devil to Me_," he said loudly, trying to make himself heard over the sound of fast-moving wind. "I'll be there in a few minutes, I only have a few more details left to arrange."

"_And if you don't make it yet?"_ Yuu asked. He respected that side of Yuu, the vigilant side that always took to taking precautionary measures, no matter the success rate.

"Do _Take This To Heart_ and have Koko sing _You'll Be The Anchor_."

_After all this time you leave me broken  
This song is every word I left unspoken  
When you hear this, girl, I'm hoping that you think of us  
That you think of us_

_Baby, I sorely miss the vibrant gleam that's in your eyes_

"_Roger that, copy. I'll keep you updated, don't hang up, okay? First song's done."_

He nodded to himself at the pace his plans were going. So far they're doing fine in the concert. He wondered what about Shino's luck.

And Imai.

And _her_…

Hazel, brown, pink, orange… every color that reminded him of her came flashing behind his eyelids every time he blinked.

He began slowing down as he approached his destination when a sudden idea popped into his head; a playful one. An ice breaker. After all, he'd been to too much pressure lately—it would be nice to break the monotony of the events.

He smiled to himself. "Yuu?"

"_Hai, Natsume?_"

"Change of plans, get Koko to do _You'll Be the Anchor_ first, and put him on the phone please," he asked, swerving round the corner of the city's dead-end. His speedometer slowed a little, and his bike grumbled in a lower pitch.

"_Okay, wait." _He heard Yuu dial a few numbers and seconds later, as he parked his bike outside a dilapidated apartment building, he heard Koko's voice.

"_Hothead, why d'you want me to play _You'll Be the Anchor? _Are you nuts, I can't do that song—!"_

"Koko, I swear to God's right hand if you ever hurt my sister I will _kill_ you," he cut through the boy's mumbling. He climbed up the stairs and took out his key, preparing himself for what lies within. "So go and propose to her already, to keep the fans on the edge of their seats. Use it to buy us some time, we'll need it if something ever goes wrong tonight."

Koko's voice sounded so disbelieving; they were playing _Angel to You, Devil to Me_ with Ruka and Kitsuneme acting on vocals. "_How on Earth did you know that?" _he whispered frantically, _"you weren't supposed to know!"_

"But I do know, doofus, so get it over with, and put Yuu back on," he said, unable to keep away the smirk of amusement on his face.

The key turned, and in an instant he found himself slaughtered by the very smell of Mikan Sakura.

He stepped inside her apartment and in no time, he found what he was searching for.

Rather, _who_ he was searching for. It was the shadow in the corner of the sofa by the stairs, obscured by the little light that permeated the room through the kitchen lights.

His eyes gleamed a little, still reminiscent of the jealousy from their younger days, but he was thankful nonetheless.

"Thanks for coming," Natsume said, his voice sounded so sincere even to his own ears; but then again, maybe he really was thankful. "I'm so sorry I had to ask you to come on such short notice, senpai."

"You know we'd both do anything for our little sunshine, so no worries. I'm your man, Hyuuga."

Then stood up the full figure of Tsubasa Andou, who held out his hand in a salutatory handshake.

"Let's get this done with, shan't we?" said Tsubasa.

Not long after, Natsume Hyuuga rode like Death himself down the streets of Tokyo, headed for the final destination for the night's events.

* * *

They were momentarily pulled away from the TV screens with a harried tap on the hotel room's doors. She stood up, a little miffed, and lifted the phone to dial the Reception. "Hello? Yes, this is Hotaru Imai, I remember specifically requesting that no one be allowed to disturb us so who the hell is this person knocking on our doors this moment?"

Mad she definitely was, but apparently, what the Receptionist had in reply stunned her to silence—and another surprise.

Mikan grew curious.

The rapping grew louder and Hotaru snapped out of her thoughts. "Okay, yes, sorry for the rudeness, thank you."

She made for the door and opened it, meeting a mop of brown hair and a pair of curiously powerful blue eyes.

"You two are coming with me," Shino said as he entered the room and took hold of the little luggage Hotaru had. "Mikan-chan, I already have your things. Come on."

"Where are we going, exactly?" asked Hotaru, dubious and a little wary of the sudden appearance of who she knew was Anna Hyuuga's lapdog.

Shino turned to look at them with a strangely amused look.

"It's simple, really," he said as he tried to drag out Hotaru's huge bag. Mikan rushed to help him and when they were out the hotel he answered the question, after Hotaru's restatement of the query.

"We're going on board the fastest jet of the Hyuugas," he said. "I'm bringing you back to Japan."

* * *

_~PV._


	17. One of Three

_Ashy-note: _Koko is the drummer, Ruka is rhythm, Kitsy is bass, and Natsume is lead. While Natsume was missing from the concert, Kitsy becomes bass, Ruka is lead, and Koko is rhythm. Mochu is the drummer. :

SONGS PRESENT IN THIS CHAPTER (in order): **When I Get Home You're So Dead** (Mayday Parade), **Weightless** (All Time Low), **Six Feet under the Stars** (All Time Low), and **Painting Flowers** (All Time Low).

* * *

The earphones crackled as Ruka spoke to Yuu. "Is he here yet? I can see the fans getting restless." Koko was making some kind of speech to the crowd while he, was preparing and re-tuning his guitar for another one of their rock numbers. The concert had been going on for more or less an hour already, and they only promised Natsume an hour and a half's leeway for whatever the hell it was he was planning.

"_He called me a while ago, he says he'll just drop by the airport to pick Mikan up."_

"Oh, okay, good."

In the background, Koko was rounding up his speech. "…and our next song is something I wrote a while back, while drunk, and I ended up with this."

Ruka began strumming the guitar as Kitsuneme started singing.

_The words are coming I feel terrible  
__Is it typical for us to act like this?_

The drums started rolling in.

_Am I just another scene  
__from a movie that you've seen one hundred times?_

The energy began sinking in as the two drum beats ended all notes, only to revive it one second later for the chorus.

_Cause baby you weren't the first or the last or the worst  
__And I've got to fill the blanks in the past with a verse  
__And we could sit around and cry but frankly you're not worth it anymore  
__So say hello to all the boys at the top of this table that you're under  
__Lipstick lullabies  
__This is sorry for the last time  
__And baby I understand that you're making new friends  
__This is how you get by  
__The moral this time is  
__Girls make boys cry_

Ruka smiled a little as the song played on, remembering how drunken Koko was when he wrote this song a couple of years ago for Sumire. He chanced his blue gaze at the latter only to find that he was shooting mischievous glances at Sumire, who was fuming with anger.

_She'll never know what's gonna hit her later, _Ruka thought as he recalled Koko's plan.

As the song played on, Ruka's thoughts spun round and round. Luckily the song was an old one, something he could play even without much focus at all; he was once grateful for the ability, but now he was just a little disenchanted—little focus for playing only meant he had so much room in his head for worry: worry for Natsume and his plans of defying his grandmother; worry for Mikan, who he knew was going to be dealing with a lot of difficulties especially after Natsume's grandmother decides to put her foot down once and for all; and most of all, worry for Hotaru, and the chances of their wedding ever being resumed. So much at stake, so little reasons for why they were laid down the line in the first place.

He watched as Koko's head bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the music and redirected his efforts to doing just the same.

_On any other day I'd shoot the boy  
__But your simple toy  
__Had caused a scene like that  
__Leave him hanging on the walls  
__Just a picture in the hall  
__Like a hundred more_

Ruka had to admit, the lyrics were pretty unsettling, and he understood how Sumire was looking so scandalized and how Koko kept sending apologetic glances her way.

_Consider this as a gift as you taste him on your lips  
__And he's making you scream with his hands on your hips  
__I hope he's leaving you empty baby this is just a fix  
__For such a simple little whore  
__And your name remains the same  
__All that has changed is this pretty face_

Just then, Yuu's voice aired through his ears again while he began the harder part of the strumming. "_Ruka?"_

_So pull the trigger, i__t never gets closer  
__You want to start over b__ut never start over  
__Pull the trigger, i__t never gets closer  
__You want to start over, b__ut never start over_

When the song slowed, he finally found it in him to answer Yuu. "What is it, Yuu?"

_Say hello, s__ay hello  
__Lipstick lullabies  
__This is sorry for the last time_

Yuu was mumbling his reply but Ruka couldn't catch a single word. He finally found it in him to focus on the song. "Can't it wait, Yuu?" The manager murmured in assent and he drowned himself in the music.

_And baby I understand how you're making new friends  
__This is how you get by  
__The moral this time is  
__Girls make boys cry_

When the song was over and Koko was babbling on the mic again, Ruka shifted his earpiece and asked Yuu what it was he said a while ago. The answer overwhelmed him.

"_Mikan's home. With Hotaru."_

Relief. Relief was all he felt.

* * *

They arrived a little too late. Natsume's heart pounded in his chest when he heard the airport Information officer that Shino's plane had landed sheer minutes ago, and that they were picked up by a limousine.

"Are you sure about this?" he growled as the officer phoned a few departments regarding the flight. Tsubasa was over at the phone booth, dialing rapidly for whatever reason he neither knew nor cared about. In his head only the resounding pump of blood remained; his mind was oddly clear, but it wasn't enough to calm his raging nerves. Shino was supposed to wait for them, he wasn't supposed to bring Mikan and Hotaru _anywhere_.

"Sir, I have just confirmed that Flight 5J-236 landed approximately fifteen minutes ago, and that all passengers have left safely. Security personnel also confirmed that the people from the flight rode a limousine."

He tried to bite back the snarl but failed. The officer looked a little frightened until he composed himself and breathed out, "Thank you." He went over to his companion who was still on the phone and took out the keys to his bike, listening to the conversation that transpired.

"—Okay, yeah, thanks hun."

He raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

Tsubasa dialed on his cell. "I called Misaki, she said Mikan had left a note saying she had to go to a café in Paris to meet up with Hotaru, and that she received another phone call little over an hour ago from Mikan, who said she was going back to Japan. Nothing else was said then."

_Imai was with Polka?_

Tsubasa paused his dialing and drew a sharp breath. "I know where they are," Tsubasa told him. His crimson gaze flashed to navy ones that did not falter its resolve. "Drive me over, and then go back to your concert. I'll bring her over."

There was way around it. "Where are we headed for?"

* * *

The crowd was intoxicated, singing along to the songs.

_Manage me, I'm a mess  
__Turn a page; I'm a book half unread  
__I wanna be laughed at,  
__laughed with,  
__just because  
__I wanna feel weightless  
__And that should be enough_

It had been thirty minutes since he received the call from Natsume saying Mikan had come back from Paris, and thirty minutes since he relayed the news to Natsume's best friend. He felt lighter as he watched life returned to Ruka's fingers at his news, and as Koko sang a jovial song at the moment, he felt eternally rejuvenated. The knowledge that Hotaru was home, that Mikan was home, that Natsume was back to his senses… everything was going to be fine, at last. Yuu could only breathe out in relief.

_But I'm stuck in this fucking rut,  
__Waiting on a second hand pick me up  
__And I'm over getting older  
__If I could just find the time  
__Then I would never let another day go by  
__I'm over getting old_

_Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year  
__And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere  
__And this is my reaction to everything I fear  
__'Cause I've been going crazy  
__I don't want to waste another minute here_

An assistant approached him as he watched the band from backstage. "Sir? A message just came in for you."

"What is it?" He took the tablet in his hands and tapped on the audio message that had come in mere seconds ago. It was from Natsume.

"_Missed them; I'm coming, maybe ten or twenty minutes away. Have Koko do the damn thing already, I don't wanna catch him proposing to my sister so sickeningly."_

The relief piled all on him until it felt like it was going to crush him—another step closer to a brilliant ending. Even Natsume seemed to have come back from the grave. The message was proof enough that Natsume had come back to his usual self.

He spoke to the band through their earpieces again and addressed Koko. "It's time. Get yourself together Sandy."

Koko's panic-stricken voice sounded in his ear as Ruka played for the instrumental part. _"What, now? No, wait!"_

"Natsume won't hear of it. He's coming soon," Yuu said. To throw in a little more effect, however, he added, "Unless you want to propose to Sumire while her brother's around?"

"_No, no definitely not."_

_Make believe that I impress  
__That every word by design turns a head  
__I wanna feel reckless, wanna live it up just because (just because)  
__I wanna feel weightless 'cause that would be enough  
__If I could just find the time then I would never let another day go by  
__I'm over getting old_

_Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year  
__And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere  
__And this is my reaction to everything I fear  
__'Cause I've been going crazy  
__I don't want to waste another minute here_

"Song kind of fits you, really," he told Koko, who was unable to reply because he was still singing.

_This could be all that I've waited for (I've waited, I've waited for)_

He heard Kitsy mumble through their shared line, "_Yep, this is exactly what you've been waiting for," _and Yuu had to stifle a laugh. He lay behind all the worries so that he could enjoy this one spectacular scene from the band.

Koko, unable to answer because of the singing, merely sent them all a small glare in return.

_And this could be everything, I don't wanna dream anymore  
__Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year  
__And I've been going crazy, I'm stuck in here (I'm stuck in here)_

"_Rock out, guys!" _Ruka told everyone. Yuu nodded his head in approval.

_Maybe it's not my weekend but it's gonna be my year (it's gonna be my year)  
__And I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere (go nowhere)  
__And this is my reaction to everything I fear (everything I fear)  
__'Cause I've been going crazy  
__I don't want to waste another minute here_

After the song, Yuu's heart began racing again—he was nervous.

Koko let out held breath and sighed. "Okay. It's been too long now and I really don't wanna keep this any longer, but I wanna… get married."

The crowd screamed, and one voice stood out and yelled "Marry me, Koko, honey!"

The band laughed and Koko replied, "Oh, sure sweetheart, if your name is Sumire."

The crowd stilled for a moment before momentous roars exploded. To allow Koko to escape the tension, Ruka began playing the introduction for their next song.

"You know, Sumire, I've been digging a grave for myself, but I got room for two, six feet under the stars," Koko said before singing the first lines.

_Time to lay claim to the evidence  
__Fingerprints sold me out  
__But our footprints washed away from the docks downtown  
__And it's been getting late for days  
__And I feel myself deserving of a little time off  
__We can kick it here for hours,  
__And just mouth off about the world  
__And how we know it's going straight to Hell_

Yuu peeped through the curtains to glance at Sumire, who looked like she's been hit by a truck and only realized it afterwards.

_Pass me another bottle honey  
__The Jaeger's so sweet  
__But if it keeps you around then I'm down_

Koko smiled at Sumire before blurting out the chorus.

_Meet me on Thames Street  
__I'll take you out though  
__I'm hardly worth your time  
__In the cold you look so fierce  
__But I'm warming up because the tension's like a fire  
__We'll hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes  
__And like a bad movie I'll drop a line  
__Fall in a grave I've been digging myself  
__But there's room for two  
__Six feet under the stars_

Koko recalled days when all they did was sit under the canopy of fake stars at the ceiling of his bedroom during their childhood. It was what caused his to write the song, and now, as he sang it in front of her and thousands of others, he felt heaven and peace and all the crap he never used to believe in. Music was setting him free.

_I should have known better than to call you out  
__If not for you I know I'd tear this place to the ground  
__I'm gonna roll the dice before you sober up and get gone_

_Thames Street  
__I'll take you out though I'm hardly worth your time  
__In the cold you look so fierce  
__But I'm warming up because the tension's like a fire  
__We'll hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes  
__And like a bad movie I'll drop a line, fall in a grave I've been digging myself  
__But there's room for two six feet under the stars_

_Time to lay claim to the evidence  
__Fingerprints sold me out but our footprints washed away  
__I'm guilty but I'm safe for one more day  
__Overdressed and underage  
__Do you really need to see an ID?  
__This is embarrassing as hell  
__But I can cover for it so well  
__When we're six feet under the stars_

_Thames Street  
__I'll take you out though I'm hardly worth your time  
__In the cold you look so fierce  
__But I'm warming up because the tension's like a fire  
__Well hit South Broadway in a matter of minutes  
__And like a bad movie I'll drop a line  
__Fall in a grave I've been digging myself  
__But there's room for two six feet under the stars  
__Six feet under the stars  
__Six feet under the stars_

On stage, Kitsy approached Koko and bids him good luck.

Ruka takes the mic. "Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, two extraordinary things are about to happen." Koko took down his guitar, grabbed the mic, and went down the stage to Sumire, on whom the spotlight suddenly shone. The proceedings were displayed in the five huge monitors all over the concert venue, and the audience was screaming, both in delight and jealousy.

The music began playing, and yet Ruka sang.

_Strange maze, what is this place?  
__I hear voices over my shoulder  
__Nothing's making sense at all  
__Wonder, why do we race?  
__When everyday we're running' in circles  
__Such a funny way to fall  
__Tried to open up my eyes  
__I'm hoping' for a chance to make it alright_

It was Koko who sang the chorus.

_When I wake up, the dream isn't done  
__I wanna see your face and know I made it home  
__If nothing is true, what more can I do?  
__I am still painting flowers for you_

Without another word, Koko took Sumire's hand and dragged her across and over to the stage as the rest of the band played and sung on.

_Show my cards, gave you my heart  
__Wish we could start all over  
__Nothing's making' sense at all  
__Tried to open up my eyes  
__I'm hoping' for a chance to make it alright  
__When I wake up, the dream isn't done  
__I wanna see your face and know I made it home  
__If nothing is true, what more can I do?  
__I am still painting flowers for you  
__I am still painting flowers for you_

Sumire looked vicious, and Ruka couldn't help but feel everything to be a déjà vu — Hotaru looked a lot like that, he was sure, when he proposed to her. Not that Koko would notice. Even through the loud music, he could hear the boy's labored breathing, and if he hadn't felt that himself, he would have laughed.

Koko sang the rest of the song while Sumire stood on stage, looking everywhere except at Koko.

_I heard everything you said  
__I don't wanna lose my head  
__When I wake up, the dream isn't done  
__I wanna see your face and know I made it home  
__If nothing is true, what more can I do?  
__I am still painting flowers for you  
__I am still painting flowers for you_

Reminiscent of Ruka's proposal, Koko then got down on one knee, pulled out a box from inside his suit, and turned his eyes to a shaking Sumire.

He almost laughed when he said the words.

"Marry me."

* * *

Natsume had dropped Tsubasa off at an apartment on the western side of Tokyo and then left for the concert when his phone began vibrating in his pocket. He pulled over and fished out the gadget and answered the phone.

It was Shino.

"What are you doing?" he hissed into the phone. "Where are you? Why did you take Mikan? Shino, explain yourself damn it." He could hear the ramble of a car's engine in the background.

"_Natsume, give me a few minutes. I'm driving them over. Tsubasa found us already, he knew where I was and he followed me and I'm sorry. I just wanted to explain everything to Mikan and Hotaru… I made you worry, didn't I?"_

He breathed out long and deep before answering. "You know, you can get so much like that idiot of a woman sometimes."

"_Hey, jerk-ass. Don't call me an idiot."_

For a moment his voice got stuck in his throat. The reply was so sudden, so unexpected—the voice felt like an electric shot to his heart and he found that he had been fumbling for words for the past ten seconds or so.

"_Natsume. It's me."_

His hands shook for a moment at hearing her say his name. "Mikan…"

He could practically hear the smile in her voice. _"Yes. I'm home." _Before he could say another word, however, Shino said he had to hang up the phone and without another word, the line went dead.

The shock still reverberated through his spine, but before he found time to think about it, his phone vibrated again.

The display said "_Grandmother."_

Anger coursed through him, and though he tried placating it by thinking of the fact that he heard Mikan's voice again, it was quite useless. His purpose popped into his head again and turning the phone off, he traveled to the heart of Tokyo where his concert was taking place.

* * *

_I know I said I wouldn't be updating, but here's me breaking my word. In a good way, at least! (:_

_~Ash._


	18. Queen to Queen

If ever there had been a day when she did not think about the events three years past, she could not remember. Mikan thought she had recalled enough of those times for them to run dry but for that night it seemed each memory multiplied tenfold. It was difficult having to stay her heart inside a car on a quiet and tension-filled trip to a concert that she knew could either make or break her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Hotaru's voice.

"Why are we stopping, Kazikawa? What was that, who sent you a message?"

She looked at Shino, who started massaging the bridge of his nose while putting down his phone. He sighed. "Look," he said, leaning his head back and staring at them through the rear-view mirror, "Grandma Anna just called me. I missed it, but knowing her and the situation right now, it's not hard to assume she's asking me to go back to the mansion. I need to go. That way you guys won't be hindered. You have to get to Natsume before Anna finds you. She can take down the whole arena if she wanted to and we can't have that." He looked at Mikan, and she understood. "Not now. Not when Natsume's risking it all."

"What do you want us to do?" Mikan asked Shino, before getting dragged out of the car by Hotaru. She staggered on the pavement just in time to hear Hotaru tell Shino, "Best of luck, Kazikawa."

Hotaru took Mikan's hand and they flagged down a taxi as Shino sped away to the Manor.

* * *

"Any news from Natsume?" Anna Hyuuga asked brusquely, pacing back and forth, clutching a phone in one hand with the other clenched tightly in sheer anger. She shot a sharp glare at the man standing by the door, who only shook his head.

She took a deep breath and dialled Natsume's number again. It just rang on, and the waiting was grating on the old woman's nerves. She had never been made to wait. She was never _supposed_ to be made to wait. A few more rings and she gave up on calling her grandson, opting instead to call Shino.

He had been holding his phone, expecting the call.

"Yes, Grandmother?"

"_Where are you_?" Her icy tone made it clear to Shino that she was angrier than she had ever been. He sighed, keeping one hand firmly on the wheel. "I'm on my way."

"_Good. And Natsume?"_

"Natsume... I couldn't contact him, Grandmother. He seemed to have abandoned his phone somewhere."

There was a long, pregnant pause on the other end of the line, and then the sound of a heavy body falling. The line went dead. Shino's heart beat out of his chest.

And it was in that moment when everything fell apart.

In the taxi, Mikan and Hotaru's phones received the same message that left one hurt and the other angry.

* * *

After Koko's proposal, the band took a five-minute break. It was then that Koko and Yuu heard. Right before they could get back to playing, the speakers blared and the lights around the stadium all went on. The surprised audience gasped and pointed as the band began taking off their instruments as Yuu stepped on the stage and took the mic.

The news had shocked them all. Koko's face was scrunched up in confusion. Sumire left earlier after receiving the call, but they had yet to know if Natsume already knew. No one could reach him by phone, and so all they could hope for was that he arrives before the rest of the crew leave. Ruka and Mochu were talking quietly behind him, but he did not care.

Just when they all thought everything was going according to plan...

"Ladies and gentlemen, due to an unforeseen circumstance, we have to end the concert short—"

The yells and screams of a disappointed crowd filled the arena as Yuu's announcement struggled to thunder on.

"—and so in compensation for your efforts to come here, we would like you to exit the gates in order and claim a ticket, to be handed out by the concert staff, to another concert in exchange for this truncated one. The date is to be announced soon. On behalf of Cire, I apologise for the inconvenience these events have caused you."

At the news of another concert for free, the crowd's anger seemed to have evaporated and slowly but noisily, the people began dispersing. Leaving the stage for the band room, Ruka and the others turned to Yuu.

"What happened? Have you reached Natsume yet? Yuu, what just came up?"

Koko already knew. Sumire had informed him during the break. The rest, however, only looked confused at the sudden cut-off of the concert.

It was bound to reach national news sooner or later.

Yuu spoke calmly, but the darting of his eyes told Koko he was just as flustered as the rest of the Hyuugas and the band were. "Anna Hyuuga just had a stroke. Shino called me during the break, just as Sumire received the call from their father. She's under intensive care. Shino just arrived at the hospital, alone."

"But what about Mikan and Hotaru?" Koko blurted out. "Where are they now? They have to know this, we can't let them come over here and find that the stadium's empty as crap!"

"And Natsume?" Ruka asked their tired manager. "What about Natsume, does he know?"

Yuu fiddled with his fingers as he replied each of their questions. "Mikan and Imai are on a taxi back to Imai's flat. She believed Mikan should not be involved in matters that were no longer of her concern. She said Mikan was getting paler, and the suddenness of things must have gotten to her. They are going to be staying there until this is all fixed."

He stopped talking and stared at all the expectant faces of his friends. "Natsume— Natsume doesn't know."

Ruka started. "What! How can he not know?"

"His phone has become unreachable. I think he turned it off. Shino said Anna Hyuuga's been calling him ever since the landing of the plane, so I suppose Natsume was trying to avoid conversation."

"But Natsume—"

As if destiny was playing a hugely sick joke on them, Natsume showed up by the door, breathing heavily, helmet in one hand and keys on the other, looking livid.

"What the _fuck_ is happening here, huh?" His eyes were sharp slits. "Somebody had better explain to me why all the people are moving out the stadium and Mikan and Imai aren't around, because I can't stand any more of this crap!"

"Natsume—" Ruka tried to begin, but Koko cut through him so bluntly it would have made Hotaru proud. "Your grandmother is dying. Mikan is at Hotaru's place, Shino and Sumire are at the hospital. Your grandmother's in the ICU, she suffered from a stroke."

Natsume's surprise was evident in his eyes. "When did this happen?"

"About fifteen minutes ago," said Yuu. "We called off the concert to give you—"

Without listening to the rest of what Yuu had to say, Natsume had turned around and left.

* * *

In Hotaru's flat, Mikan lay quiet on the huge bed. It had been more or less thirty minutes since they arrived at Hotaru's flat, much to her confusion. It had been five minutes since Hotaru said she was going out to go buy food. A part of Mikan knew her best friend was lying. What about, she didn't know. All she knew and cared about at the moment was the fact that she was alone, finally, after the longest three hours of her life.

She could not understand anything. She was fine in Paris. She was fine being away from all the commotion of Tokyo and Natsume and all the rest of the lies and deceit she had desperately tried to run away from. She was fine with the quiet, but now her mind was in an uproar as she struggled to stop herself from relieving all that happened from a week ago leading to the moment she found herself falling helpless into Hotaru's bed.

She felt stupid for giving in so easily, it felt almost as if she was stuck in a story she would have written herself—the main character gives up her own happiness for the one she loves... All that shit she had been writing about for so long now felt so terrible now that she was feeling everything first hand.

Six days ago she had been summoned to Anna Hyuuga's study. As she entered, the all-too-familiar face of Natsume's grandmother greeted her like a friend long forgotten. The old woman stood by the windows, a posture Mikan knew all too well. She had been looking out over the vast yard before her teal-blue eyes met her hazel ones. They pierced through Mikan's soul, and the look of disgust on her face chilled Mikan's spine.

"We meet again," Anna Hyuuga said to her. "Mikan Sakura." Her name rolled off Anna's tongue like it was the slimiest of all tastes.

She bowed low. "Madame."

Anna Hyuuga laughed harshly at that. "_Madame, _you call me. Don't be such a liar, you little girl. We both know what we think of each other. Now stand up straight. It is unbecoming of a lady to bow so low. Granted, you may be scum but you are still a fine lady."

She stood up straight. "To what do I owe the pleasure of being called upon?"

Anna moved to her desk where a multitude of papers were scattered across. She grabbed a folder and handed it to Mikan. "I have... an offer."

At the last two words, Mikan's eyes darkened. She lifted her head from the folder and stared disbelievingly at the old lady who looked back at her with malice in every corner of her blue eyes. "An offer? For what?"

Anna's face broke into a mocking smile. "I figured that with gold-digger that you are, our previous arrangements may not have been enough for your needs. Perhaps, with this new arrangement, you would be more inclined to follow what has been agreed upon."

Mikan's hands shook ever so slightly. "No. I'm not doing this again."

The Hyuuga's eyebrows rose. "Oh, really? I don't think the stipulations of this new agreement are anything you can say no to easily. Surely with your grovelling intentions and your need for my grandson's wealth you'd consider this offer more."

Mikan just glared as Anna Hyuuga simpered. "Go on, open the folder and read."

Mikan recalled the stipulations clearly, as though six days hadn't passed.

_Clandestine departure and migration to Paris, France..._

_A sum of 450,000 Euros upon departure..._

_An annual deposit of 100,000 Euros, beginning the year after departure..._

_Complete and definite severance of all ties with anyone of the Hyuuga name..._

She had read through the papers and knew that she was never going to say yes. She remembered looking back into Anna Hyuuga's eyes, dropping the folder to the desk, and rejecting the offer as defiantly as she could.

And all too clearly, she could remember Anna Hyuuga's voice, as she threatened to destroy the name of Mikan Sakura, to erase all records and make her build her life out of scratch. She could easily have ignored those threats, but then the old lady began tearing down her resolve through threatening to destroy Natsume's band, and threatening to disown her grandson and deprive him of all that he had ever lived with, including his name.

Clutching the pillows tightly, her eyes closed against the stream of tears that had fallen from nowhere, Mikan recalled how Anna Hyuuga had threatened to destroy Natsume's life, and for all that it was worth. She knew Anna Hyuuga could never do harm to her favourite grandson, but who was she to say? She did not know how far Anna Hyuuga was willing to go.

Who was she to say no? She feared for Natsume.

She always only ever feared for Natsume.

* * *

It started to rain just as they made it into the van.

Kitsuneme was disheartened. For four years, they had dealt with the chaos that surrounded Mikan and Natsume. For a while they had all been given false hopes of the two finally fixing themselves up, and then Anna Hyuuga arrives. After days of planning and after all the rebellious deeds Natsume did, they all had hoped it would be resolved, but yet again they were given a sharp slap back to reality by the unforgiving gods who never seemed to get enough of watching them suffer.

Kitsy wondered why the best people got the worst fates. He recalled how perfect Natsume and Mikan were back in their days at the Academy. It had seemed unlikely for the two to ever have separated. No one saw it coming.

For a moment, Kitsy wondered if a god truly did exist.

They arrived at the hospital greeted by Sumire, Shino, and a crying Youichi being held by little Aoi. The tension around them was as tangible as the scent of mingled fear and shock and desperation that everyone felt.

The little boy's first question caught them by surprise.

"Where is my onii-chan?"

It was Ruka who spoke first. "Natsume hasn't arrived yet?"

Shino shook his head. "We thought he was with you," she told them, grabbing Koko's hand, the diamond ring glinting in the light of the hospital hallways. "Where did he go?"

"He ran out of the stadium after we told him," Yuu told the other two. "We thought he was headed straight here."

For a moment none of them managed to speak, but when Hotaru arrived behind Shino, Ruka knew.

* * *

It was raining.

She had fallen asleep, but the sound of the heavily-pouring rain broke through her consciousness as the urgent rapping on the door woke her up. _It must be Hotaru, she must've forgotten her keys,_ she thought as she clambered out of the bed to get the door. She had a nightmare, and when she blinked she realized her eyes had tears in them. Rubbing her eyes tiredly and hastily wiping the tears away from her face, she took one last sniff and wrenched the door open.

It wasn't Hotaru.

"Na—Natsume..."

Her hazel eyes opened wide in surprise. He was there. He was there, in front of her, dripping wet.

She could not believe it. She reached out a hand to touch his face and make sure it wasn't just another dream, but when his hand met hers and he yanked her towards him in a tight embrace and she found herself suddenly attacked by his familiar scent, her eyes filled with tears again.

"How dare you," he whispered fiercely into her ear. Those three words hit her like a whip and she pulled away from the hug just as Natsume let himself into the flat. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the panel of wood, watching Natsume's back.

She blinked and suddenly Natsume punched the door. She found herself pinned against the door, Natsume's breath hot against her face. His fists stayed right where it was, while his other hand reached for her face. Reaching, but never touching.

He held his hand over her face and yearned to touch her cheek, to kiss her lips, to feel their bodies pressed again, but he didn't. He just stood there, staring.

His crimson eyes burned as he looked at her, but when he finally touched her, all sense flew away as his lips found its way back to hers.

All the while he burned.


End file.
